The Next Generation
by Arsenal123
Summary: After Ash finished his adventures with both youngsters Bonnie and Max (although in different regions), both Trainers set out on a journey across Kalos and discover many secrets about the region and even themselves!
1. Chapter 1

**A New Adventure!**

This was it. This last move was the only thing keeping him from the title of Pokemon League Champion! He knew that Pikachu would prevail, it always did! As Pikachu sent out a massive Thunder, the opponent's Dragonite used Dragon Rush and charged towards Pikachu full speed!

Next thing he knew, he was atop a podium in a huge stadium, surrounded by people cheering and chanting, "MAX! MAX! MAX! MAX!" He waved at them and looked in his hands. There was a trophy, proof that he had won the Pokemon League! Even after he left the stage, the chanting didn't stop.

"MAX! MAX! MAX!"

He opened his eyes. A lady, stooped over him, released her breath, as if she'd held it in fear that Max wouldn't wake up!

As he rubbed his eyes and put on his glasses, he realized where he was. He was on an airplane! He automatically sat upright and looked around him. He was in the first-class part of the plane, in some sort of recliner. There was a TV next to him, displaying a Contest back in Hoenn, which his sister, May, had won! No surprise there! To his right, was a table with dozens of different foods with delicious aromas, but Max wasn't hungry. He looked to his left, where a window showed him where exactly he was.

Even though they were miles away from land, he could see Prism Tower, glistening in the distance. He had made it!

He had waited for the day until he turned 10, when his parents surprised him with a trip to the Kalos region and a Pokemon from the Professor there! Max didn't know which Pokemon he'd pick. In fact, he didn't know anything about the Pokemon! He wanted to be surprised when he saw the options laid out in front of him.

"It's still a while until we get there," interrupted the hostess standing over him. "You might as well get some sleep!"

He smirked, biting back a comment. "You're the one who woke me up!"

But he didn't say anything, and silently, went back to sleep.

* * *

"Bonnie!" exclaimed Clemont, as he raced after his little sister.

Bonnie sprinted towards the nearest Pokemon Center as fast as she could. She finally made it, ten years old! Now, she was going to be a Pokemon...

She suddenly stopped. What was her dream? She liked to befriend Pokemon, very much like her friends Serena and Ash, but they both had different goals. Ash wanted to be the strongest Trainer, and Serena wanted to be the best Performer! Bonnie saw the appeal in both and still didn't know which decision to make!

Clemont, panting behind her, put his hand on her shoulder. "Bonnie," he started, "what's wrong?"

She exclaimed, "I'm so confused! I don't know what to do! I've been staying up all night, thinking about whether or not I want to be a Trainer or Performer! They're both really cool, and it's hard to choose!"

Clemont, who finally caught his breath, smiled. "I'm sure you'll make the right decision! Both ways, you'll make friends with different kinds of Pokemon! You saw how Serena befriended Pancham, who we all thought was some wild troublemaker!"

From behind him, Chespin nodded and muttered to itself.

As if to comfort its Trainer, Dedenne came out of Bonnie's bag and nuzzled it lightly.

Bonnie giggled. "You're right!"

Clemont kneeled down to pull something out of his bag. He gasped! "OH NO! IT'S NOT HERE!"

"What's not here, big brother?" questioned Bonnie.

"Um... nothing!" stammered Clemont. Then, whispering in Chespin's ear, he jumped up and said, "You know what! I'll meet you at the Pokemon Center! I forgot something!"

As he sprinted back towards their house, Chespin followed.

Bonnie shrugged. Then, she turned to Dedenne. "Alright, let's go make the right choice!"

* * *

As Max got into the taxi, he breathed in the air around him. He was in a new region! Everything about it seemed to be beautiful! The sky, the Pokemon, the nature!

The taxi sped from the Lumiose Airport towards Professor Sycamore's laboratory. His nose pressed against the window, Max took in all the cafés around him, the new and strange Pokemon, the people even! It was like he stepped into a whole other dimension!

Finally, the taxi halted in front of the lab. Max paid the driver and hopped out of the door, excited for the journey he was about to start!

He sprinted towards the lab door and opened it as fast as he could. He walked in and saw a man waiting for him.

He approached the man. "Excuse me," started Max, "but would you mind showing me the way to the professor?"

"Absolutely!" he exclaimed. He started towards a long hallway, and Max followed, eager and excited. As they walked past the rooms, Max gaped as he saw more new Pokemon, and even some Pokemon he already knew! A Gardevoir was practicing its psychic power in one room. A Graveler was aiming rocks at a target. This, Max thought, is an incredible facility!

Finally, they reached the end of the hall. The man took a box from a side desk and placed it onto the main table that took up most of the room.

"Sorry to keep asking questions from you," said Max, "but where exactly is the professor?"

The man laughed. "The professor... would be me!"

Max staggered. This was Professor Sycamore?! He had heard so much about him! He adored him! How could he have not known it was him?!

"And you must be Max," said the professor. "So, I'm willing to bet you're pretty eager to receive your Pokemon?"

Max nodded.

"Well then..." Sycamore said, as he opened the box on the table, revealing three different PokeBalls. He tapped the white buttons and out came three different Pokemon.

Max gasped. They were incredible!

"This first one," the Professor said, pointing to the Grass-type, "is a Chespin, the Grass-type."

"The second one," he continued, pointing to the reddish yellow fox, "is a Fennekin, the Fire-type."

"This last one," he finished, showing a blue frog, "is a Froakie, the Water-type."

Max adored all of them! How could he ever choose?

"Well,then?" asked the professor. "Do you think you know which Pokemon you'll choose?"

After a minute of consideration, Max nodded. "Yes! I'll choose..."

* * *

"Here is your application!" exclaimed Nurse Joy sweetly, as she held out a form for Bonnie to fill out and sign. She filled most of it out with ease, until she reached the part labeled "Trainer Class". Nervously, she panted as she tried to make a decision.

"Trainer? Performer? Trainer? Performer?" she asked herself. Nervously and rashly, she filled in one of the bubbles and handed it back to the nurse.

"Ah!" she exclaimed. "So you want to be a Performer?"

Bonnie nodded. As she did so, all the pressure that had been on her was lifted. She made her choice, and it relieved her, so this must be a good sign!

As she got her chain for her Princess Keys, Clemont sprinted into the building with a bag. "Which- did you- choose?" he panted.

Bonnie held up her Key Chain proudly, and Clemont hugged her. "Good choice," he whispered in her ear. He held out the bag and said, "I got you something!"

Inside the bag was... a bag! The Trainer bag she had wanted! It was a yellow backpack that she loved because she always pictured herself with it! She grabbed Dedenne out of her old bag and said, "I think you're done with staying in the bag!"

Dedenne cheered! It hopped onto the floor in front of her.

Clemont laughed. "Look inside the bag Bonnie! See what I got for you!"

Inside the bag was a Town Map, medicine, a Pokemon Cleaning Kit, PokePuffs, and two PokeBalls! As she grabbed the PokeBalls, she recognized the first as Dedenne's PokeBall, but didn't know what the second one was for.

Clemont smiled. "Click the button!"

As she tapped the button, a Chikorita came out of the PokeBall. "No way!" exclaimed Bonnie. "It's a Chikorita! Thanks, big brother!"

She hugged him, and was glad for everything he'd given her. All of these gifts were going to help her a lot, and she appreciated this!

Suddenly, two figures jumped from the ceiling. A cloud of gas came out of nowhere, and an evil laughing noise came from the center of it. "Guess who?"

* * *

As Max left the Pokemon Center, he threw the PokeBall in the air. "Come on out!" he exclaimed.

Out of the PokeBall came his Pokemon partner, Chespin. Although Fennekin and Froakie were both cool Pokemon, he wanted a Pokemon partner that suited his nature: pumped up and ready to battle!

As he and Chespin strolled through Lumiose City, heading for the Pokemon Center to contact his parents and apply for the Pokemon League, he saw a cloud of smoke appear. "Wha.."

He and Chespin ran towards it as fast as they could and saw a Pokemon shooting out the gas! It was a Croagunk!

"Chespin," he exclaimed, "stop that Croagunk before it hurts anyone! use Tackle!" Chespin hurtled itself towards the Pokemon and sent it flying into the wall, stopping the gas cloud.

The Trainer, a girl in a red suit, gasped. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Stopping you!" Max exclaimed.

"No one stops Team Flare!" the girl cackled. Out of nowhere, the Croagunk leaped up and used Poison Jab on Chespin.

* * *

Once the fog cleared, Bonnie saw a Skrelp trying to release more of the gas. "Dedenne, Thunder Shock! Chikorita, Vine Whip!"

Both Pokemon got into action and knocked the Pokemon back, and a Team Flare member approached her. "You think this is the last you'll hear of Skrelp?" he questioned.

Before Bonnie could realize what he meant, a Sludge attack was hurled at her Pokemon, who were knocked back with another Trainer's Chespin. She approached Chespin's Trainer and said, "We can't get them seperately, so let's get them together!"

The trainer (Max) nodded.

"Chikorita, Vine Whip!"

"Chespin, Tackle!"

"Dedenne, Nuzzle!"

The Pokemon unleashed their attacks and aimed them at Croagunk and Skrelp, who were knocked out and returned to their PokeBalls. Team Flare sprinted from the Center and vanished.

* * *

After healing his Pokemon and getting his badge case, Max approached the Trainer who had helped him. "Thanks for the help! I'm Max, by the way!"

Bonnie giggled. "I'm Bonnie!"

"Hi," responded Max. Then, he said, "I liked the way you battled!"

"Thanks!" she exclaimed. "You too!"

"Well, then," said Max, "I guess I'll be heading to Santalune City for my gym battle."

"Santalune City?" questioned Bonnie. "I'm headed there for a Showcase!"

"Then let's go together?" he asked.

"Together!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A Night to Remember!**

As he settled into his sleeping bag next to Bonnie, Max listened to the whistling noise of the wind. He smiled. This was how he had felt when he was traveling with May, Brock, and Ash back in Hoenn.

Chespin, Dedenne, and Chikorita snoozed outside of the tent, and as Max went to check on them, he felt an arm on his leg. "Where are you going?" asked Bonnie, yawning due to her fatigue.

"I'm going to go make sure our Pokemon are all right," he whispered. He put a foot outside of the tent and heard a rustling sound in the bushes ahead. His ears perked, he slowly stepped towards the noise as quietly as he possibly could. Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the bush! It was...

"Chespin!" exclaimed Max, his breath slowing down, his shoulders dropping, his tense position disappearing. Chespin looked at him and smiled.

Max suddenly turned around to make sure the others were sleeping quietly, and to his releif, both of Bonnie's Pokemon were curled up in their designated resting places.

Chespin suddenly ran off into the dark woods next to him, and Max groaned and followed.

* * *

The deeper into the woods he went, the more trees and dark figures sprouted around him. Max kept following Chespin until the trees parted around him.

The clearing around him was astonishing. The grass was a brilliantly light green that shone even at this time during the night. The flowers in the grass were vivid and beautiful shades of red, blue, and purple! The sky was scattered with millions upon millions of dazzling stars, and with them was the humongous moon, which tonight was full.

Chespin stood on the shore of a lake. The water was aqua-colored, dazzling Max. He ran to the lake and peered into it, where dozens of different Pokemon swam. Max laughed.

"Why did you bring me here, Chespin?" Max asked.

Chespin grunted and pointed to the other side of the lake, where a massive root sprutted from the ground! It was slashing the trees around it and destroying the natural beauty of the clearing!

Horrified, Max said, "Chespin! We gotta help! Let's go!"

* * *

As she watched Max leave the campsite, Bonnie swiftly followed him, with Dedenne and Chikorita at her side. By the time she reached the clearing, she saw the huge root-like being destroying the wildlife.

"It can't be.." she gasped, as she followed Max.

She had watched as her, Clemont, Serena, Ash and many others finally vanquished those evil things and saved Kalos!

"Did they come back?" wondered Bonnie.

And then she realized: if this root was here, then that means...

As she reached the root, a being with ninja-like speed sped towards the root and sliced it with ease. It landed on the ground in front of them as the root vanished.

Max gaped. "What is that?"

Bonnie responded from behind, "That... would be Ash's Greninja!"

* * *

Max suddenly turned around as he heard Bonnie's voice behind him. "What are you doing here?" he pondered, realizing that she was here, "and how do you know... wait! ASH'S Greninja? As in Ash Ketchum's Greninja? The one who barely lost to Alain's Charizard in the Pokemon League? The one that can turn into a special kind of Pokemon?"

Bonnie nodded. "Yup! This is Ash Ketchum's old partner, Greninja!"

"Wait a minute," continued Max as he put the pieces together, "that means you've met Ash before?"

Bonnie looked at him, surprised. "Yeah! I traveled with him all around Kalos! I watched him catch all of his Pokemon, get his gym badges, and make his way to one of the strongest Trainers in Kalos! How do you know him?"

Max said, "I traveled with him in Hoenn! I had the same experience as you did!"

Bonnie giggled. "This is so cool! We've both traveled with Ash!" Suddenly, she turned to Greninja. "I'm so sorry! I forgot about you for a second!" Then, she ran to Greninja and hugged it, Dedenne following it. Chikorita maintained its distance, unfamiliar with this new Pokemon, and stuck with Chespin, who sat down a few feet behind Max at the edge of the lake.

Greninja, taken aback for a second, embraced the hug. It had been a couple of years since he had last seen Bonnie, and it had missed spending time with her! Of course, it yearned to see Ash even more, given that he was its bond, but in time, it knew they would be reunited!

Max slowly approached Greninja. "Hi," he started, "I'm Max! One of Ash's friends. I watched you in the Pokemon League on TV! You were AWESOME!"

Greninja nodded a thanks and held out its hand for Max to shake. Max shook it, and suddenly he felt something... a pinge of a feeling he couldn't exactly name. It was like he...

Suddenly, Greninja leaped up and ran back into the forest.

"Hey, wait up!" exclaimed Bonnie, as she, Max, Chespin, and Dedenne ran after it.

Chikorita ran after its Trainer, but suddenly, a cube popped out of the sky and plopped itself onto Chikorita. It released a box of energy that trapped it!

"Chikorita!" exclaimed Bonnie as she ran to her Pokemon.

From the sky came a red jet, which dropped two ladders from it. Down came the two members of Team Flare that Bonnie and Max had fought in Lumiose City.

"We never got to formally introduce ourselves," said the male Team Flare member. "I'm Bryce!"

"And I'm Cheri!" exclaimed the woman. "And we're here for your Pokemon!"

Bonnie groaned, and then turned to Max. "Go after Greninja and help it! It probably sensed another one of those roots! I'll get Chikorita back!"

Max hesitated for a second, and then nodded. He and Chespin ran into the forest and out of sight.

* * *

Max and Chespin ran through the forest and finally caught sight of Greninja, who was in a skirmish with three of the evil roots! Suddenly, two of them grabbed its arms and legs, and the third one started lashing out at it!

"Chespin!" exclaimed Max. "Use Vine Whip on those roots!"

Chespin launched its attack and sent out vines to lash out at the root attacking Greninja, but the root turned from Greninja and grabbed the vines, flinging them up into the air.

Chespin was launched into the air and was sent crashing down. It tried to get up, but it was hurt too badly!

However, Greninja was given the opportunity to slash the evil roots down with Cut and escaped! It ran to Chespin's aid and looked into its eyes. Chespin looked up and nodded. It stood up and launched its attack with Greninja.

"Wow!" exclaimed Max. "Chespin, listen to Greninja! It knows what it is doing!"

Chespin nodded and faced Greninja, who nodded back at it once again. Then, both of them charged at the vines.

* * *

"You think you can stop us this time?" teased Cheri as she made a move for the energy box containing Chikorita.

"Of course!" exclaimed Bonnie. "Dedenne, Thunder Shock, now!"

Dedenne released a bolt of thunder that hurtled towards Cheri.

"I don't think so!" she cackled. Out of nowhere, Croagunk came and slapped the jolt back to Dedenne, who got even more charged up. Cheri groaned.

"My turn!" exclaimed Bryce, as a Sludge Bomb came out of nowhere and hit Dedenne. Skrelp! It staggered backwards, obviously hurt from the move.

Two Pokemon aren't a good odd for Dedenne, thought Bonnie. Then, she came up with something.

"Dedenne, Shock Wave!"

Shock Wave hit both Cheri's and Bryce's Pokemon, sending them back.

"Now, give them a Tackle!"

Dedenne rammed itself against both Croagunk and Skrelp, sending them backwards.

"Now finish this with Thunderbolt!" Bonnie exclaimed.

Dedenne shocked the two evil Pokemon, sending them back to their Trainers, who put them in their PokeBalls and got back on their jet, with Chikorita in their hands!

"NO!" exclaimed Bonnie, as she clung onto one of the ladders of the jet, which soared into the air.

* * *

As Chespin and Greninja hacked away at the roots, Max saw Dedenne out of the corner of his eye. It ran to him and collapsed.

"Dedenne!" exclaimed Max, just as Chespin and Greninja finished cutting the evil roots, which disappeared.

Max grabbed Dedenne and wondered where Bonnie was, when suddenly, he heard a jet fly over him and looked up... only to see Bonnie clinging from a ladder attatched to it!

"Bonnie!" gasped Max, as he tried to figure out what to do. He then turned to Chespin.

"Chespin," he said, "I need .you to use Vine Whip and throw Greninja up there to help Bonnie!"

Chespin looked at him as if that was the most idiotic idea it had ever heard, until Greninja nudged it, saying that it wanted to do it.

Chespin looked worried for its newfound friend, but used its vines to throw Greninja to the jet anyways. Max looked at Chespin and nodded. Then, with Dedenne in his hands, he sprinted after the jet.

* * *

This was possibly the scariest thing she'd ever done! Bonnie clung to the ladder for dear life and tried to climb up, and managed to get close to the trapdoor that would let her get into the jet. Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands push her to the door and saw Greninja on the ladder behind her!

Greninja pointed to the trapdoor and nodded, and Bonnie nodded back. Then, Greninja hopped from the ladder and dove down and used its Water Shuriken as a hoverboard that would take it down.

Bonnie pushed the door open and looked inside. The jet was somewhat small, so she could see Bryce and Cheri in the front, their Pokemon near them, and Chikorita right next to the trapdoor. She pushed herself up and crawled towards the box and turned it off. Chikorita ran gleefully to its Trainer, but then, Skrelp and Croagunk turned around and saw them.

"Well, well, well!" groaned Cheri. "I guess you made it this far! Well, you're not going to make it any farther!"

"We'll see about that!" exclaimed Bonnie as she grabbed Chikorita, clung to it, and jumped out of the trapdoor just as a poison attack was unleashed, meant to hurt her and Chikorita.

The last thing she saw before she fainted was Chikorita use its Vine Whip. Then, everything went dark.

* * *

"Bonnie, wake up!" exclaimed Max, worriedly. "Wake up!"

As she opened her eyes, she saw Max and Greninja leaning over her. To her right, was Chespin, and to her left was Dedenne, but no Chikorita...

"CHIKORITA!" she exclaimed as she immediately jumped up, searching for her Pokemon.

"Don't worry," said Max. "It's just resting. It used all its energy saving you."

"It saved me?" she gasped.

"Yep," said Max. "It used its vines to grab onto a tree, which it slammed into and went unconcious. You only got a little bruise on your leg, but other than that, you're fine!"

Bonnie smiled. "Oh, Chikorita."

Max said, "We got rid of those roots, by the way. Do you think that it was a coincidence that Team Flare and the roots were at the same place today?"

Bonnie shook her head.

"Whatever they're planning," said Max, "we'll stop them! But right now, let's get back to the campsite. We still have to get to Santalune City, you know!"

"We do," said Bonnie, as she suddenly saw Greninja walking away from them.

"Greninja!" she exclaimed. "You're going already?"

It shook its head, and then grabbed something. It was... an egg?

Greninja handed it to Max, and Max took it from Greninja and thanked it, a little bit confused. He saw a note attatched to it:

To whoever this may concern,

Please take care of this egg! It was given to you out of trust, so that must mean you are worthy of being its keeper.

-Anonymous

Max thanked Greninja once again and hugged it, and Bonnie did the same. Greninja pulled away from their hugs and left.

"That was..." started Bonnie, "an interesting night!"

"I guess so," said Max. "Definitely a night to remember!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Fennekin: Fueled and Fiery!**

As Max and Bonnie headed towards Santalune City, they rested at a Pokemon Center several miles outside the city.

"We're almost there!" squealed Bonnie, as she grabbed Chikorita and Dedenne back from Nurse Joy. "Santalune City, here we come! I hope its as amazing as the last time I saw it!"

"Well," said Max, "at least you got to see it! I'm probably more psyched than you."

As he grabbed for Chespin, Chespin leaped off the counter where Nurse Joy set it down and ran towards a door leading outside. Max groaned and followed Chespin.

"Just as mischevious as Clement's!" giggled Bonnie as she and her Pokemon followed.

The door opened up to a terrace with chairs and tables and... a battlefield!

Max sprinted to the battlefield at once. "This is perfect! A battleground!" Then, he turned towards his friend. "Bonnie, I challenge you to a battle!"

Bonnie grabbed a poster that was plastered onto the wall. She smiled. "We can't now, but take a look at this!" She thrusted the poster at Max.

Max read, "To all beginner Pokemon Trainers, I invite you all to a battle tournament here at the Pokemon Center outside of Santalune City, on Thursday at noon. Each Trainer can enter one Pokemon and must compete against each other until a victor is found! The winner will get a special prize given to them by none other than the Hoenn Princess of Contests, May!"

"MAY?!" both Bonnie and Max said in unison.

"I love May! She was my inspiration far before my friend Serena was to become a sort of Pokemon Performer!" exclaimed Bonnie. "What do you see in May, Max?"

Max said, "May's my sister!"

Bonnie gasped. "Your sister?" Suddenly, her face was overcome with an expression that resembled a fangirl. "Can you get her to talk to me? Can you get her to meet me? Oh, please! Plus, she'd be the perfect wife for my brother, Clemont! Please! PLEASE!"

Max sighed. "You're gonna meet her anyways. She'll be at the competition tomorrow, right?"

Bonnie nodded gleefully. "Right!" Then, she turned to Dedenne and Chikorita. "Alright, you two, let's go train! I gotta pick one of you to battle in the tournament, so show me some good moves!" She sprinted away from Max and Chespin to train.

Max set his backpack, containing the egg given to him by Greninja, when suddenly, he saw a Trainer with a Fennekin on a leash. "Come on, you useless Pokemon! You need to train! Even a Magikarp is stronger than you, so you need this! Trust me!" he exclaimed.

Max approached him angrily. "What do you think you're doing with that Pokemon?" he asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" sneered the Trainer. "I'm keeping it in shape! Well, trying to at least. It's too weak for it to already be in shape!"

Fennekin mewed sadly, then looked at Max with longing eyes. It looked sad and hurt, and Max couldn't let this Trainer get away with hurting it!

"Let... go... of... that... Fennekin... now!" he exclaimed.

"Fine," said the Trainer with a smirk. He called the Pokemon back into its PokeBall, looked at it for a second, and then hurled it into the woods right next to the battlefield. "It was useless to me anyways!"

"YOU!" shouted Max as Chespin used its Vine Whip on the Trainer, mad at the action he had just commited.

The Trainer held up a PokeBall and released his Feraligatr, who grabbed the vine with its teeth and launched Chespin into the air.

"I guess that Chespin needs some training too," said the Trainer. "If you want to make it far in the competition, get a new Pokemon, or have me, Fernand, crush you and your puny Pokemon like a bug!" With that, he laughed and walked away.

Bonnie rushed outside, gasping. "What happened?"

Max groaned. "Chespin just got hurt! Take it into the Pokemon Center for me! Please!" As he finished saying this, he sprinted into the forest to find Fennekin's PokeBall.

"Wait!" exclaimed Bonnie, but saw that Chespin was hurt, so she took it into the center to Nurse Joy.

* * *

As Max ventured into the woods, he searched and searched for the poor Fennekin's PokeBall, until he saw the crushed remains of one. He picked it up and looked around. On the ground ahead of him, he saw tracks that lead deeper into the woods, and he followed them.

Suddenly, an Ember was shot at him, which he barely dodged. He looked ahead of him and saw the Fennekin, who seemed hurt. It realized that the person it had shot at tried to help it and save it from Fernand, so it slowly walked towards him.

Max walked towards it as well and cupped Fennekin's head. He pet it for a second and then pulled out a PokePuff from his bag and outstretched his hand for Fennekin, so it could take it. Fennekin slowly grabbed the PokePuff with its mouth and started to nibble on it. Its eyes seemed to relieve themselves of all the pressure and tense feelings it had had as it slowly devoured the PokePuff, and Max smiled.

"Fennekin," he started as he looked at the Pokemon, "you deserve better than Fernand! Let me take you to the Pokemon Center and find you a new Trainer."

Fennekin mewed sadly, as if it disapproved.

"You don't want another Trainer?" asked Max, wondering why on earth it still liked Fernand.

Fennekin mewed and looked at Max passionately.

Max didn't understand what it meant. He picked it up and said, "First, let me heal you up. Then, I'll show you my friends!"

* * *

Bonnie waited anxiously for Max to arrive back, only to realize he had just walked into the Pokemon Center and went into the Emergency Room. She waited by Chespin's side as Max walked into the room with a Fennekin in his hands! He put it down gently and went to Chespin's side.

"Chespin, I'm so sorry!" he groaned, as he caressed his injured Pokemon.

It looked up at him and smiled weakly, and it looked at Fennekin quizically, just like the way Bonnie, Dedenne, and Chikorita were looking at it.

"Oh!" he gasped. He pointed to the Pokemon. "This is Fennekin. That Trainer I had trouble with, Fernand, ditched it in the woods, so I brought it back and healed it, and now I'm going to help it find another Trainer!"

Fennekin looked at Max, and Bonnie said, "How could you be so naïve? It's so obvious!"

"What is so obvious?" wondered Max.

Just as she was about to answer Max, Nurse Joy entered the room with a report in her hands.

"Nurse Joy!" exclaimed Max. "Is Chespin going to be alright?"

Nurse Joy nodded and smiled. "Yes, it will be just fine!" Then, her expression changed into a sad one. "However, Max, it will take time for its leg to heal, and it won't be able to compete in the battle tournament."

Max looked at Chespin sadly, and said, "As long as you feel better, I'm fine! But I really wished I could teach that punk Fernand a lesson for what he did to you and Fennekin!"

Fennekin went to Max and nudged its head against his knee and mewed, and Max understood what it meant.

"You... want to battle with me in the tournament?" Max asked, a smile forming on his lips.

Fennekin mewed and jumped.

"All right then," said Max as he pulled out a PokeBall, "PokeBall..."

A large bang was heard from outside, and suddenly, all the lights went out. Footsteps were heard in the building, and Nurse Joy, Bonnie, and Max hid behind the bed where Chespin lay. Max tried to grab Chespin, but Nurse Joy shook her head and whispered, "If it isn't attatched to those cords, it won't help it at all!"

Max groaned, and then covered Chespin with a white blanket to hide it from whatever was coming.

Max held Fennekin closely, while Bonnie hugged Dedenne and Chikorita. Nurse Joy slowly crept towards the door, but was blasted back when suddenly, two large men wearing orange and a Pyroar entered the room. Nurse Joy was rendered unconcious!Max and Bonnie, Pokemon in hand, clambered under the bed.

The two men didn't notice them. They searched the room for something. "That device should be in this Pokemon Center! That kid was here with the device, and now he's gone!"

The men and the Pokemon were about to leave the room, when suddenly, a startled Chespin yawned and woke up. One of the men discovered it and said, "What should we do with this Pokemon? The B squad is already out of here and found a bunch of Pokemon! What about us? Do we need this puny midget?"

The other one responded, "It could prove useful! You never know! Once it evolves, it could be some sort of supergiant tank Pokemon!" He cackled and grabbed Chespin. They left the room until a Flamethrower and a Thunder Shock were shot at them!

"You're not going anywhere!" shouted Bonnie and Max in unison.

"Wow! A couple of weak kids think they could stop us- high ranking officers of Team Magma!"

"Who's Team Magma?" wondered Bonnie, and then Max groaned.

"You guys!" he exclaimed. "You guys failed with catching the Legendaries Groudon and Kyogre, and we beat you!"

"It's the kid!" gasped one of the members. "It's the kid who, with the other twerp with the Pikachu, stopped us!"

"Yeah, he ain't so hot now, is he?" cackled the other member.

"What are you up to?" asked Max.

"Well, let's just say we have a lot in common with Team Flare!" shouted one of the two people, and then suddenly, Pyroar unleashed a Flamethrower attack.

"Bonnie, I'll take this Pyroar down! You use Chikorita and Dedenne to stop that B team they were talking about!" exclaimed Max.

Bonnie nodded and went off with her Pokemon.

"Huh, your Fennekin couldn't beat us!"

Pyroar lunged at it and used Take Down. Fennekin was knocked backwards, but it stood its ground. It used Scratch attack on Pyroar, who grabbed its paws with a Bite attack and launched it backwards.

Fennekin was hurt, but it was determined to fight! It shot out a series of Ember attacks, which Pyroar quickly evaded. Then, Pyroar launched a Fire Blast attack, which Fennekin tried to counter with Flamethrower, but failed and was hurt.

Pyroar loomed over the hurt Pokemon and was about to finish it off, when Fennekin used Scratch and blinded the Pyroar, and then used Flamethrower on it! Pyroar groaned and fell backwards and got up, just in time for Fennekin's Lick attack! It was paralyzed and hurt badly, so Team Magma returned it to its PokeBall.

Fennekin launched itself towards Team Magma and scratched them as well, and they almost dropped Chespin was it not for Max's dive. He caught it and smiled at it.

Team Magma, unconcious, was defeated!

* * *

Bonnie and her Pokemon easily defeated the B team. They consisted of a Slugma (which Dedenne shocked) and Numel (which was knocked out by a fast series of Razor Leafs!) She then saw a truck and opened it. Inside were a bunch of Pokemon Team Magma had kidnapped from the Pokemon Center, along with their tied up Trainers. She released all of them and returned to the Center.

The police came and arrested both Team Magma squads. The police thanked them and even game them medals of honor! They accepted them happily.

Suddenly, Nurse Joy said, "The power is still out! We can't heal the Pokemon without it!"

Bonnie handed over her Dedenne. "Nurse Joy, my Dedenne can help you!"

Dedenne squealed with joy.

Nurse Joy said, "Thanks! But its probably going to be tired tomorrow, so will you be OK using Chikorita in the tournament tomorrow?"

Bonnie grabbed Chikorita and nodded. "Yup!"

Meanwhile, Max was in Chespin's room. Chespin was lying in bed, and Fennekin sat next to Max in the chair.

Max stood up and said, "Fennekin, let's continue from where we left off! I want you to be my Pokemon partner!"

Fennekin mewed with joy as Max tapped the PokeBall to its head and it got caught by him!

Suddenly, Max saw Fernand walking past his room with a weird machine in his hands. He suddenly remembered Team Magma's conversation about the kid with the device. They must have come for him! Apart from having the device, how was he involved in this?

That didn't matter now. Tomorrow, he would fight in the tournament in Fennekin, and tomorrow, he would beat Fernand!


	4. Chapter 4

**What is Life without Fear-ow**

"Bonnie, hurry up!" whined Max as he and Fennekin finished up regestering for the competition. Bonnie kept comforting and petting and even feeding Dedenne, who was too tired from restoring electricity to the Pokemon Center after Team Magma's attack to battle.

"Calm down!" Bonnie groaned as she put Dedenne in her bag and walked to the registration counter.

As he and Fennekin walked towards her, a familiar voice drawled, "Wow, so I guess you and your... well, MY weak Fennekin are battling today? Think you can actually pass filling out the forms? Or are you too weak for that too?"

Fennekin mewed angrily at its previous Trainer.

"For your information," exclaimed Bonnie, "this isn't YOUR Pokemon, you jerk! You abandoned it!"

"Aww," mocked Fernand, "you're so pathetic you need your girlfriend protecting you?" Then he turned to Bonnie. "I'd watch my mouth if I were you, weakling! There are some people in this world that can kill you with the snap of their finger!"

"Why, you..." huffed Bonnie, until Max grabbed her shoulder.

"He's not worth it, Bonnie," said Max, throwing a glare at Fernand.

"You better listen to your boyfriend, Ronnie!" sneered Fernand as he walked away from the duo.

"We're gonna beat him, right?" asked Bonnie angrily.

"Well," started Max, "he IS going to use his Feraligatr, and neither Chikorita or Fennekin are strong enough to face that kind of power!"

"Then we'll at least try!" exclaimed Bonnie.

Max nodded. "Most definitely!"

* * *

As the first part of the tournament began, Max grabbed Fennekin PokeBall. This would be their first official Trainer battle. He just had to win!

"Now," said the MC, "here are the matchups for today's battles!"

#1: Macy vs. Bonnie

#2: Clyde vs. Max

#3: Ruby vs. Dora

#4: Diego vs. Daisy

#5: Fitz vs. Harry

#6: Theo vs. Fernand

#7: Edmond vs. Alice

#8: Liam vs. David

Bonnie was battling first! He was confident in her ability to battle. Max was battling right after her, so he was a little nervous about Fennekin and the little training they had done.

Fennekin nudged its head against his leg. He laughed. Max got up and walked with Fennekin to Chespin's room, where it was eating its lunch. Max laughed.

"Hey there, Chespin!" he said as he sat next to his Pokemon. Fennekin hopped onto the bed and started to sniff the food Chespin had, but Chespin grabbed it and guarded it. It looked at Fennekin's somewhat sad eyes, and relented. It shared a piece of its Poffin, which was extremely unusual. Chespin never shared any sort of food, not even with Dedenne and Chikorita.

"That's nice of you, Chespin!" exclaimed Max. He stroked it gently. He then grabbed the egg out of his bag and placed it gently next to Chespin.

"Chespin," Max started, "do you think you could guard this egg while Fennekin and I are battling?"

Chespin looked at Max fiercely and nodded proudly, then settled the egg next to it.

Max knew Chespin was bound to get restless, so he figured that giving it a special job would make it feel more occupied.

Over the microphone, the MC called, "Both Trainers participating in the first battle, please procede to the arena!"

"I guess it is time for Bonnie to battle," muttered Max, as he and Fennekin waved Chespin goodbye and headed to the stadium.

* * *

Bonnie stood hesitantly, with Chikorita at her side. She looked at it nervously, and then told herself, "Ash was never nervous when he battled! Neither were Serena or Clemont? Why should I be?"

She gasped, and then proceded to the battleground. It was very different than the day before! On the sides, bleachers were erected, and seated in them were tens of hundreds of Pokemon fans, cheering her on!

She threw them a nervous and uneasy smile, and then headed to her spot on the battlefield. Across from her, her opponent, Macy, smirked at her cockily.

"Are you ready to lose?" she sneered.

This gave Bonnie all the motivation she needed to kick this girl's butt."Not even close!"

Chikorita hopped onto the field, and Macy laughed. "Tailow, let's go!"

Chikorita glared at Tailow fiercely, who, just like its Trainer, looked at it cockily.

The battle began. Tailow used Quick Attack and sped towards Chikorita quickly. Chikorita lashed out its Vine Whip attack, but slightly missed due to an unexpected Agility. Tailow was right in front of Chikorita's face before she knew it!

Chikorita was blown back after taking the hit, but quickly retaliated by using Razor Leaf. All the leaves, however, were sliced into shreds with an Air Cutter. Chikorita, looking petrified, stepped back slowly.

"Chikorita, don't give up yet!" she exclaimed.

Chikorita looked at its Trainer and nodded. It launched a Tackle attack straight at Tailow, but Tailow hovered over it and used Peck. It hit Chikorita down to the ground, who jumped back up but was pecked again. It kept doing this over and over again, until Bonnie got too scared for her Pokemon's health. She was about to forfeit, for Chikorita's sake, when suddenly, a plan formed in her head.

Just as Chikorita prepared to Tackle the aerial Tailow again, Bonnie exclaimed, "Chikorita, Vine Whip on its beak!"

Chikorita tied Tailow's beak up with vines, and then slammed it down to the ground. Tailow got up and charged at it with Quick Attack, and once again Chikorita shot out a Vine Whip, expecting Tailow to use Agility. It did.

"Chikorita, Razor Leaf!" exclaimed Bonnie, as Tailow got in Chikorita's face. Chikorita used its attack to blow the Pokemon back. It fell to the ground, weakened.

"Finish it!" exclaimed Bonnie. Chikorita tackled Tailow, knocking it out.

"Tailow is unable to battle," said the referee, "so the victors of this match are Bonnie and Chikorita!"

As the referee was announcing this Bonnie was about to throw Macy a jeering glance, but saw her crying. She slowly approached her and said, "Hey, you and your Tailow did well! There's no reason for tears!"

She reached for her, but Macy slapped her hand back. "I don't need your sympathy!" she half-sobbed, running back into the Pokemon Center.

* * *

Max's first battle was easy. With one Flamethrower attack, Clyde's Scatterbug was defeated! It was so easy, even he didn't believe it.

Of course, Fernand also won the match. However, he was not using his Feraligatr; he used his Fearow. The Pokemon easily and swiftly defeated its opponent's Pidgey.

As he looked around, waiting for the next round's matchups, he saw Bonnie. "Nice match!" he exclaimed. "Chikorita came back beautifully!"

"Thanks," she giggled. "Your match wasn't much of a challenge, though!"

"I guess, " muttered Max. "Have you seen May anywhere, by the way? She was supposed to be here to announce the tournament in the beginning, but they had to cancel it when she didn't show!"

"I have no idea where she is! I hope she's ok!" said Bonnie.

"Attention, Trainers!" exclaimed the MC. "I would like all of you to pay attention to the matchups on the screens. These will be the next battles in this round of the tournament:

#1: Ruby vs. Diego

#2: Bonnie vs. Fitz

#3: Max vs. Edmond

#4: Alice vs. Fernand

"So we're not battling each other yet," groaned Max."I was actually kind of looking forward to that!"

"I was too," said Bonnie, "but I already know I would've won!"

"Would not!" exclaimed Max.

"Would too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Children, children," sneered Fernand cooly, "you'll battle each other soon. Possibly in the Loser's cup!"

"We'll see about that, you jerk!" said Max.

"So why don't you beat it before I give you a piece of my mind?" asked Bonnie aggresively.

"Awww," said Fernand. "Too bad I'm not going to be able to watch this pathetic little show! I've got better things to do!"

The battles of the second round were easy. Chikorita easily defeated its opponent's Goldeen, and Fennekin easily beat its opponents Pansear, although it did take a couple of Scratch attacks.

Finally, the MC announced, "As the competition heats up, the blood between contestants boil! Congratulations to those who have made it to the semifinals!"

Bonnie and Max laughed and clapped for themselves, and then turned to watch Fernand clapping slowly.

"Alright, then, here are the matchups for the semifinal round of the tournament."

#1: Bonnie vs. Diego

#2: Max vs. Fernand

Max gasped and turned to face his rival. Fernand smiled maliciously and walked away.

"I'm not ready to battle him!" exclaimed Max. "I'm not!"

Bonnie put her hands on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it! You're battling with Fennekin! It probably is familiar with Fearow's tactics, since it at one point belonged to the same Trainer! Plus, you treat your Pokemon with compassion and respect! Fernand treats them like garbage! Why don't you have faith in your Pokemon's abilities?"

Fennekin looked at Max sadly. Max grabbed Fennekin and held it up. "You're right! Fennekin, you're a strong Pokemon! I have faith in you!"

Fennekin mewed happily.

* * *

As Chikorita slammed down its opponent's Blitzle with Vine Whip, the screen overhead showed that she would be moving on to the finals. Now, it was Max's turn to prove himself to be a strong opponent.

He stepped onto the battlefield with Fennekin on his shoulders. Fernand had Fearow's PokeBall in his hand.

"Well, well!" he exclaimed. "Look at what we have here! It's that puny Fennekin! Too bad your PokeBall wasn't lost forever, because I NEVER wanted to see your pathetic face again!"

Fennekin leaped off Max's shoulders to attack him, but Max grabbed it. "Fennekin," he said, "keep your cool in this battle. For me. For the both of us. If you do that, we'll beat him and you'll get to see the smug look on his face wiped off!"

Fennekin smiled and nodded. It hopped out of Max's hands and onto the field, right as Fernand let his Fearow out.

Fennekin shot out a series of Ember attacks, but Fearow glided through them as if they were a bunch of slowly falling leaves. It then used Take Down on Fennekin, who tried to stop it with its Flamethrower. Fearow sped through it as if it was nothing and knocked Fennekin backwards into the wall of the field.

Fennekin got up, angry. Fearow charged at it with Peck, which Fennekin tried to counter with Scratch. Fearow was just too fast, and Fennekin couldn't parry its blows! Fennekin fell once again, but determined, it got up.

"So you haven't changed a bit!" laughed Fernand. "Fearow, Take Down attack one more time!"

As Fearow charged at Fennekin, Max's Pokemon stood up. Suddenly, a blaze of fire surrounded it, and it charged straight into the Take Down attack!

"That's... Flame Charge!" gasped Max. The move wasn't too common in the Hoenn region, but here... it was an awesome move!

Fennekin knocked Fearow backwards and shot out a Flamethrower, damaging it even further! It was faster because of the Flame Charge!

"Just because your Pokemon gained speed doesn't mean it has potential!" exclaimed Fernand.

Fearow used Agility and gained even more speed, and used its Peck attack to attack Fennekin. Fennekin, now faster, tried to parry the move with another Scratch attack. It did well, but it still wasn't fast enough to block Fearow's pecks.

Fearow's strong beak sent it flying backwards into the wall. Fennekin looked dazed, and struggled to get back up.

"Now, Fearow," exclaimed Fernand, "Finish this with a Drill Peck!"

Fearow charged at the helpless Fennekin, and just as it was about to be hit, it slid under the bird and stood up, having regained some energy.

Fearow, however, had drilled its beak into the wall! It was stuck and vulnerable!

Max laughed and looked at Fennekin, nodding. Fennekin leaped into the air and used Flame Charge on Fearow, knocking it out!

"We did it!" exclaimed Max.

However, Fennekin wasn't done. It hopped onto Fearow's back and kept using Scratch. The poor Fearow couldn't even fend for itself!

"Fennekin, stop it!" exclaimed Max. "You won! The battle is over!"

Fennekin kept going, so Max leaped onto it. Fennekin started to scratch Max. It had lost its cool!

Suddenly, it realized what it had been doing and stopped. It looked at Max sadly, who looked back at it.

"It's over," he cooed, as Fernand finally recalled his Pokemon. "It's over."

Fernand approached Max. "Your Fennekin has some serious anger issues!"

Max exclaimed, "No it doesn't! The way you always neglected it caused it to be this angry!"

"Whatever," said Fernand. "Anyyways, that was a pretty lucky victory you had there! If I had been using Feraligatr, its weakest move could've knocked you out with one hit!"

"So why didn't you use Feraligatr?" he asked.

"Fearow needed more training," he responded. "Wait, why am I telling you this? I gotta go!"

As Fernand left, Bonnie approached him gleefully.

"Nice job!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks!"

Suddenly, the MC announced, "We have finally made it! The finals! These were a hot series of battles, but we're finally down to the best one yet!"

On the screen, this was shown:

BONNIE VS. MAX

"Ahh!" exclaimed Bonnie. "That means... we're battling!"


	5. Chapter 5

**A Fairy Big Dilemma!**

Max and Bonnie faced each other in the stadium. They both had made it this far, despite a couple of tough battles that could have ruined their chances of getting this far into the tournament.

"Fennekin, let's go!" exclaimed Max, staring into Bonnie's eyes with a flare of excitement.

"Chikorita, it's you and me!" Bonnie exclaimed, meeting Max's glance. Chikorita may have been at more of a disadvantage, but both Trainer and Pokemon knew each other better and would fight harder than usual for each other.

The start of the finale battle began. Fennekin started the battle out with an Ember barrage, which Chikorita swiftly leaped over. It then used Razor Leaf to hit Fennekin, but Fennekin shot them all down with another series of Embers.

Chikorita engaged in a Tackle attack, which Fennekin met with a Flame Charge. The move may have been super-effective against a Grass type like Chikorita, but it was too pumped up and eager to win that it didn't notice it.

As the two Pokemon pushed each other with their heads, Chikorita released its vines and grabbed Fennekin, launching it into the air. Before it released its vines, Fennekin used Scratch attack and released itself, and then used Flamethrower while spinning down speedily.

Chikorita slightly dodged the move. Max groaned. One of the Pokemon had to land a hit so that there would be some sort of advantage given to one of them!

Now that both Pokemon were on the ground, Fennekin leaped towards Chikorita with a Flame Charge attack, which Chikorita leaped over. This didn't stop Fennekin; it kept charging towards Chikorita, who got more tired from dodging the move. The more Fennekin charged at it, the faster it became, and the more Chikorita dodged, the more tired it became.

Fennekin suddenly stopped its move. Chikorita saw this as an opportunity to use Razor Leaf, which Fennekin dodged quickly and swiftly. Bonnie gasped.

Fennekin then shot out a Flamethrower, which sent Chikorita sprawling back. Chikorita was still strong and could still fight, despite the fact that it had just taken a serious blow.

"There must be some way to stop that Fennekin!" muttered Bonnie. Then, she thought of something.

Fennekin shot out a series of Embers, which Chikorita dodged. Then, Fennekin sped towards Chikorita quickly, until Chikorita used its Vine Whip to make a tripwire that caused Fennekin to fall down. It was going too fast to even notice the trap!

Chikorita started to whip the fallen Pokemon with its vines, and then used Razor Leaf to damage it even more. Fennekin got up slowly, and used Flame Charge. Chikorita kept up its attacks, but Fennekin kept coming. It slowly pushed through the attacks, and the fire around it grew hotter and bigger he more Chikorita attacked it! Finally, it pushed through the moves and hit Chikorita with a powerful, flaming Flame Charge!

Chikorita fell backwards. It was severly wounded! It tried to get up, but it couldn't. Suddenly, a green light came around it.

"Both Pokemon are using their abilities!" muttered Max.

Fennekin's fire had been fueled up because of its ability Blaze, and Chikorita could still battle because of its ability Overgrow.

Suddenly, Chikorita's wounds seemed to fade. Bonnie gasped, and then realized what was going on. It had learned Synthesis!

Chikorita seemed as if it was in the condition it had been in just before the battle!

Fennekin charged at it with Flame Charge, hoping to end the battle right there. Chikorita sped towards it with Tackle.

As the two moves collided, the power between the collision caused a massive wave of dust to cover the entire field.

As the dust parted, both Pokemon were still standing. They both panted, once twice, three times, and then...

* * *

"Good job, young Trainer! You are the winner of this battle tournament!" exclaimed the MC as he handed Bonnie the trophy for winning the tournament.

"Thanks!" she exclaimed as he looked at Max. She smiled at him. He smiled back.

Despite its loss, Fennekin felt great! At first, it felt bad because it couldn't win the tournament for Max.

"It's ok," he had said. "If it wasn't for that surprise Synthesis, you would have won, no doubt! You were just too tired to continue!"

Both Dedenne and Chespin, who were both somewhat recovered from their injuries and fatigue, cheered the Trainers for their hard work.

"Now," said the MC, "we're expecting somebody..."

"Wait!" shreiked a voice from the back of the crowd. "I'm here! I'm here now!"

Max gasped. He knew that voice! It was...

"May!" announced the MC. "Here she is, folks! The newly crowned Queen of Hoenn!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" yelled Bonnie as May approached her, panting.

May said, "Well, hey there, young Trainer! I see you already know me! And you..."

As she turned to face the runner-up, she gasped.

"MAX?!" she shrieked. She ran and hugged her little brother.

"You're... embarrassing... me," gapsed Max as his older sister squeezed all the air out of him.

"Sorry," she whispered. Then, she turned to Bonnie. "Now, where were we? Oh, yeah!" She pulled out of her bag a box. Inside the box was a set of stones!

"Here," she said, "we have all the evolutionary stones! Fire stone, Leaf stone, moon stone, sun stone... we even have chunks of the Moss stone and the Ice stone!"

"Thanks!" exclaimed Bonnie.

* * *

"So," May said as Max filled her in on their journey so far, "that's what you've done! Team Magma's back?"

Max nodded.

"Well, we shouldn't worry about them now!" exclaimed Bonnie. "By the way, where were you at the beginning of the tournament?"

May giggled and pulled out a PokeBall. "You see," she said, "I was looking for a certain Pokemon! It's an absolute cutie!"

"Can I see it? CAN I SEE IT?" asked Bonnie eagerly.

"Uh-huh!" chirped May as she released the Pokemon that she had caught.

Out came... a Swirlix.

Max groaned as Swirlix automatically ran to get sweet-smelling poffins from May's bag. "That... is just a fuzzy, pink Munchlax."

May flushed. "I gotta admit, there IS a resembelance!"

"I think it is a CUTIEPIE!" gasped Bonnie as she ran to the Pokemon. "Where did you get it? Oh please, tell me!"

May giggled once again. "Well, if you want, I can show you..."

"YAY!" exclaimed Bonnie, as she followed May out the door of the Pokemon Center, Chikorita and Dedennne sprinting in hot pursuit.

Max sighed. Chespin and Fennekin looked at him, and he nodded. They sprinted after Bonnie as well.

* * *

"Here it is!" exclaimed May. "Fairy Meadow!"

Max and Bonnie gasped. Everywhere around them were Fairy type Pokemon! Swirlix, Spritzees, and even...

"A FLABÉBÉ!" exclaimed Bonnie, running to the little flower Pokemon.

"Awesome!" she gasped. "It's a rare blue one, too!"

"Those Pokemon ARE cute," said May, "but I'm in love with Swirlix!"

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Hey, that's MY Flabébé!" as Bonnie was about to throw a PokeBall at it.

"I know that voice..." muttered Bonnie, and then looked at the Trainer. "Macy?"

It was the Trainer she beat in the first round of the tournament. "Well, if it isnn't little miss PERFECTION!"

"I didn't know you had a Flabébé," said Bonnie.

"Not yet, I don't!" snapped Macy. "I want that rare one!"

"Well, too bad!" exclaimed Bonnie. "It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

Both Trainers threw their PokeBalls at the Flabébé, but the little Pokemon dodged. However, when both PokeBalls collided, they went astray, and Bonnie's hurtled straight towards a Spritzee! The PokeBall hit the Pokemon on the forehead, and it went inside the PokeBall.

Bonnie gasped, running to the PokeBall. It seemed as if... she caught Spritzee.

Macy smiled ruefully and grabbed her fallen PokeBall and threw it at the Flabébé! It went inside the PokeBall and was captured!

"That's not fair!" exclaimed Bonnie as Macy smirked at her. "I saw that Pokemon first!"

"Too bad," sneered the Trainer, "now you're stuck with a Spritzee!"

"Uhhhh," muttered Bonnie, but then she realized that she had caught a Spritzee for herslef. It was an accidental catch, granted, but she still caught it in her PokeBall! Plus, it wasn't too bad of a Pokemon. She actually thought of adding one to her team anyways.

As Macy giggled and ran off, May said, "I'm sorry you didn't get the Pokemon you wanted, Bonnie."

Bonnie turned to her and smiled. "It's OK! I still got a really cute Pokemon, didn't I?"

May nodded, smiling. "You sure did!"

Max suddenly thought of something. "Hey, since you both caught new Fairy Pokemon, why not have a battle?"

Bonnie nodded. "I like that idea!"

May said, "Let's do this!"

* * *

"The battle between May and Bonnie will commence," said Max, "Now!"

Both Trainers released their Pokemon. Bonnie grabbed Spritzee for a second and said, "I've never battled with you before, Spritzee, but I am really excited to!"

Spritzee giggled and released a scent that smelled strongly of roses and lavenders. Bonnie coughed.

"That's a... strong smell you get there!" she said.

The battle between Spritzee and Swirlix began. Swirlix started the battle with a Fairy Wind, which Spritzee also countered with a Fairy Wind.

Swirlix used Tackle, and hit Spritzee directly! It continued to tackle the defenseless Spritzee until it used Sweet Kiss on its opponent. As it kissed Swirlix, Swirlix became confused!

Spritzee then used Echoed Voice on the confused Swirlix, who started to hurt itself. However, it quickly recovered from its confusion and used Fairy Wind to blast Spritzee backwards.

Spritzee was still able to battle. It used Fairy Wind on Swirlix, who dodged it with ease. Swirlix used Tackle on Spritzee, who dodged. Swirlix kept trying to tackle Spritzee, but it kept dodging.

Finally, Swirlix used Sweet Scent, and Spritzee seemed to be lured in by the magnificently sweet aroma released by Swirlix! Swirlix then used Tackle on it, knocking it backwards.

Spritzee, using Swirlix's own tactic and love of great smelling delicacies against it, used Sweet Scent. If Spritzee couldn't resist the scent, there was no way Swirlix could! Spritzee used Echo Voice on the dazed Pokemon, sending it sprawling.

Spritzee now hovered over Swirlix, preparing to use a final Fairy Wind, when suddenly, Swirlix blasted it with a Round attack. Spritzee got up, just in time to get hit with a Tackle attack.

Spritzee and Swirlix both unleashed a Fairy Wind attack, which started to seem like a duel of spells. Swirlix and Spritzee both gained and lost their advantage in the "duel", and then a burst of energy erupted around them.

It cleared, and when it did, Spritzee was found lying unconcious, Swirlix barely able to stay awake.

"Spritzee is unable to battle, which means the winner is Swirlix!" exclaimed Max, happy his sister won but sad his friend ended up losing.

"Good job, Swirlix!" exclaimed Max, feeding the Pokemon a poffin.

Bonnie held Spritzee in her arms and said, "You did a pretty good job there, Spritzee! That was your first battle, so don't fret about it!"

Bonni approached May and shook her hand. "You were incredible! This battle just made me an even BIGGER fan than ever!"

May blushed. "Thanks, Bonnie."

Max said, "You both did awesome for you first times with these Pokemon!"

Bonnie giggled. "We sure did!"

"Hey," said May, "I'm headed to Santalune City to get my final princess key in Kalos! Do you guys maybe wanna come with me?"

"Yeah!" said Max. "Hey, Bonnie, aren't you competing for that princess key, too?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Well, then," said May, "I guess we'll be rivals then!"

Bonnie nodded once again, but this time, she smiled.

"Hey," she said, "can I see your Pokemon real quick? Just to scout the competition?"

"Sure!" exclaimed May. "Everyone, come on out!"

Out of their PokeBalls came Blaziken, Venasaur, Skitty, Wartortle, and Glaceon!

"WOW!" gasped Bonnie. If she had any confidence about winning the princess key, she lost it by looking at these amazing Pokemon!

"Where are Beautifly and Munchlax?" asked Max.

May responded, "Beautifly just helped me win my second princess key and is really tired, so I sent it over to Mom until the Grand Festival! Munchlax... I couldn't afford to feed it AND Swirlix! Dad's training it at the gym until the Grand Festival and using it in battles, but I gave it an Everstone necklace so it wouldn't become a Snorlax!"

"As if feeding Munchlax wasn't hard," muttered Max.

"Anyways," said May, "your Chikorita and Dedenne look like they're in prime condition!"

"Thanks!" exclaimed Bonnie. "They're nowhere near the level of your Pokemon, though."

"Aww," said May, "that's sweet."

"Now," said Max, "since everything is pretty much cleared up, how about we head over to Santalune City? I'm dying to get a gym badge!"

"You sound just like Ash!" exclaimed May and Bonnie in unison while rolling their eyes. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Dear God, there's two of them!" murmured Max as he, Chespin, and Fennekin led the way to Santalune City.


	6. Chapter 6

**An Aptitude for Battle**

"Santalune City at last!" exclaimed Max as he reached the ginormous city. It was better than he ever dreamed it would be; the tall buildings rising in the distance, the wildlife and beauty of nature incorporated into the scenic city, even the Roselia fountain in the center of the city! This was ten times what he had dreamed it would be. Max thought this as he, Bonnie, their Pokemon, and May walked to the Pokemon gym, until they saw a sign hanging on the door saying...

"THE GYM IS CLOSED?!" exclaimed Max. "We came all this way and it is closed?!"

"Calm down," said Bonnie. "It'll be open tomorrow; it says here Viola, the gym leader, will be teaching a Pokemon class today later in the afternoon at the Pokemon School here in Santalune City." Then, she turned to May and whispered, "Is he always like this?"

"Always," muttered May.

"So, is your Performance today?" asked Max.

"That isn't untill another two says," said May.

"Why don't we check out this class?" asked Bonnie. "You know, the one that Viola is teaching."

"I'd definitely like to learn more about Pokemon!" exclaimed May. "There is a TON of stuff I still don't know!"

"Fine," grumbled Max. He was still upset that the gym was closed, but this would do for now.

* * *

"Here we are!" exclaimed May as they reached the Pokemon school. They walked in through the front door and saw some sort of office, where Pokemon and people organized files together, cleaned, and even played!

"Welcome to the Pokemon School!" exclaimed the receptionist. "How can I help you?"

"Hi!" exclaimed Bonnie. "We would like to register for Viola's class today!"

"Sure," said the receptionist, handing them forms. "Just fill these out and give them back to me. Then, head over to the room at the far end of the hall to my left."

They filled out the forms and did as instructed. When they opened the door, they saw students sitting in their seats, and in the front of the room was...

"Viola!" exclaimed Bonnie, rushing to her old friend.

"Bonnie!" exclaimed Viola. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to participate in your class!"

"Well, then," said Viola, "we were just about to start class!" She turned to May and Max.

"Why, I recognize you!" she exclaimed. "Class, this is May from the Hoenn region! She's known as the Queen of Hoenn because of her skillful coordinating techniques!"

The class gazed at her in awe. Then, Max introduced himself to Viola. "Hi, I'm Max, and I'm going to be challenging you tomorrow at the gym! May here is my sister, and Bonnie is my friend!"

Viola laughed. "Hi, Max!"

"Alright now," she said as the trio sat in their seats, "let's begin!"

* * *

During the entirety of the class, they learned about different kinds of Pokemon types, matchups, and even abilities! There were a lot of things that the trio didn't know.

Finally, Viola said, "Well, we've had enough lectures for today, haven't we? In a little while, we're going to have a battle segment!"

Everyone gasped in excitement.

"However," said Viola, "you are going to need to take a test so that we can categorize you into your skill levels: Beginner, Amateur, Intermediate, Proficient, and Advanced. Each skill level will have a certain amount of Trainers who will battle another person in their category! Since there are 30 of you, there will be 6 people per category! The winners of each battle can challenge each other to battle, until one ultimate winner is chosen! If you lose, you're out!"

Max knew he was going to get Advanced!

Viola handed out the tests to the class, who waited anxiously to start.

"All right...begin!"

* * *

"That was a pretty easy test!" exclaimed Max as they waited for their results.

"I'm pretty sure I did OK," said Bonnie.

"Me too," said May.

Suddenly, the projector turned on, and Viola said, "Here, we split your names into the categories! Look for your names under each skill level to find who you're going to be battling with today!"

Max automatically searched the Advanced column for his name, but it wasn't there! He must've gotten Proficient! Not there, either! Intermediate, Amateur...

Max gasped. He had gotten Beginner skill level! How could that be possible? There was no way this was possible!

"Alright!" exclaimed Bonnie. "I'm Proficient!"

"I got Advanced!" shreiked May.

Max sat at his desk, bummed. How could he have gotten such a low score? He saw some of the people in this category, and he knew that he DEFINITELY knew more about Pokemon than they did. Why would he be placed there?

"Well, now," said Viola. "Let's head outside onto the battlefields!"

* * *

"Now," said Viola. "Choose one of your Pokemon to battle with!"

As each of the Trainers chose their Pokemon and scrambled through their pockets, Max grabbed Chespin and said, "I know you haven't battled in a while, so I'm going to stick with you!"

Bonnie said to Dedenne, "You didn't battle in the tournament, so this time I'll use you!"

May held Blaziken's PokeBall and said, "You're my ace! I'm counting on you!"

As the Beginners were put into one group, one of the Trainers approached Max and said, "Hi! Would you like to battle?"

Max nodded slowly and prepared to fight.

"Go, Magikarp!" exclaimed the Trainer.

He sent out his Magikarp, who started to flop on the floor.

"Seriously?" he muttered under hus breath. "Chespin, use Vine Whip!"

Chespin started to barrage the Magikarp with its vines, when suddenly, a blue light started to shine around the Magikarp. It... was evolving.

Chespin uneasily took a few steps back from the newly evolved, and enraged, Gyarados. The Trainer fighting it, his name Billy, said, "Alright! All our training has paid off!"

Chespin staretd to use Vine Whip again, but Gyarados used Bite on its vines and hurled it into the air.

"Chespin, look out!" exclaimed Max.

Chespin huddled itself into a ball and started to spin. A rocky, outer shell covered it as it hurtled towards Gyarados. It learned Rollout!

It cloncked Gyarados in the head and kept attacking it vigorously, damaging it a great deal, until Gyarados unleashed its Water Pulse attack and destroyed the rocky outer shell. Then, it used Thrash and sent Chespin into a wall, knocking it out.

"Whoo-hoo!" exclaimed Billy.

"Wha..." gaped Max, as he approached Chespin. He picked it up and said, "I wouldn't expect you to be able to beat a Gyarados... yet!" He smiled at it, and it smiled back at him.

He walked to Billy and shook his hand, a little glum.

* * *

As he watched Bonnie and May both win their battles, Max's mood took an even worse turn, until he caught a glimpse of Viola in the garden of the Pokemon School. He approached her and saw that she was taking pictures of all different types of Bug Pokemon in the garden!

A bunch of Beautifly were flittering over tulips and lillies. Metapods and Kakunas sat under trees, just waiting for their cocoons to break open.

"Those are some nice pictures!" exclaimed Max, startling Viola.

"Thanks," she said, smiling.

"Are these all your Pokemon?" he asked.

"Yup!"

He looked at all of them.

"You know," said Viola, "I saw your battle against that Gyarados! Your Chespin fared pretty well until the end! I like that kind of battling!"

"Thanks," said Max, as Viola grabbed his arm and led him through the garden.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked curiously, as she led him through bushes.

When she finally stopped, they had reached a sort of greenhouse where there was a battlefield! Max smiled suddenly, realizing where he was!

"You see," Viola said, "The reason you were in the Beginner skill level was because I wanted to test your patience. Sure enough, you complied! You actually scored a Proficient, but I just wanted to test you!"

Max was relieved. "I knew I didn't fail!"

"Then," continued Viola, "I asked Billy to fight you, because I knew his Magikarp was very close to evolving, and I wanted to test see if you could handle a surprise like that! And you did, although you lost. It was a close battle, though!"

"So, what are you trying to say?" asked Max.

"I'm trying to say, I want to battle you! Right here, right now!" exclaimed Viola, as her students started to pour in. They were led by an assistant teacher.

Max saw Bonnie and May and waved to them. They waved back.

"Alright then," said the assistant, as both Trainers went to their side of the battlefield, "this will be a two-on-two Pokemon battle against the Gym Leader, Viola, and the challenger, Max! Only the challenger may substitute his Pokemon! The winner will be declared when both Pokemon of a Trainer are knocked out! Battle, begin!"

"Fennekin, I choose you!" exclaimed Max.

"Surskit, let's go!"

Max was familiar with Surskit, it was a Pokemon from the Hoenn region. He knew it was fast, abnormally fast!

The battle began with Fennekin shooting out a series of Ember attacks to test Surskit's speed. Sure enough, it skidded between them and shot out an Ice Beam at Fennekin, who leaped over it.

However, Surskit didn't stop. The whole battlefield soon became covered with ice, and as Fennekin returned to the ground and attempted to use Flame Charge, it slipped!

Surskit, however, skidded on the ice gracefully and charged at Fennekin with Quick Attack. It couldn't dodge!

"Fennekin, use Flamethrower on the ground!" exclaimed Max.

Fennekin melted the ice and evaporated the water on the battlefield, but by the time it did that, a Bubble attack came flying right at it, sending it bacwards. It got up weakly and used Flame Charge.

Surskit dodged it, but Fennekin, remembering its battles with Fernand's Fearow and Bonnie's Chikorita, kept using Flame Charge, even though Surskit kept dodging, until it was so fast and Surskit was so tired that it landed the hit!

Surskit used Ice Beam on the ground once again, but Fennekin had already shot out a Flamethrower attack on Surskit who, because it was also a Water type, was still standing. It used Bubble on Fennekin, but it hopped from bubble to bubble with its newfound agility and leaped towards Surskit with a Scratch attack.

"Surskit is unable to battle! Fennekin is the winner!"

Max shot a smile at Fennekin, who mewed and jumped back to its Trainer. Max said, "The battle isn't over yet Fennekin! There's still one more Pokemon up her sleeve!"

Fennekin nodded and got back onto the battlefield.

"Very good, Max!" exclaimed Viola. "That Fennekin of yours is very well-trained! However, this Pokemon will defeat it for sure! Go, Vivillon!"

"I don't think so!" exclaimed Max. "Fennekin, use Flame Charge, now!"

Fennekin leaped towards Vivillon in a blaze!

"Vivillon, Infestation!"

Suddenly, Fennekin was trapped in a sort of bug swarm on the ground, which kept draining its health!

Fennekin shot out a Flamethrower, but it was futile! It couldn't move and could only aim at one spot, and Vivillon easily dodged it!

"Now, Vivillon, Air Cutter!"

"Fennekin, return!" exclaimed Max, trying to get Fennekin back before the Air Cutter hit it. However, the Infestation had a ward around Fennekin, not allowing it to escape.

The Air Cutter hit Fennekin straight on, knocking it out.

"Fennekin is unable to battle, which means Vivillon is the winner!"

"Fennekin," said Max as he grabbed his injured Pokemon, "you were great! I'm so proud! Return!"

He held Chespin's PokeBall, wondering how it would be possible to get out of that Infestation!

Chespin came out of its PokeBall, ready to fight.

It leaped towards Vivillon with Tackle, but it dodged and used Confusion, sending it backwards. Already, Chespin was pretty beat up!

As it tried to get up, Vivillon used Confusion once again to keep it in place! Then, it used Infestation, trapping it!

"Gah!" exclaimed Max, until suddenly, he realized what he could do.

"Chespin, Rollout!"

Chespin started to spin in place as Vivillon prepared to unleash... a Solar Beam attack!

Chespin had to act quick. The more it span, the stronger its move became. Since Vivillon was a Bug and Flying type Pokemon, Rollout would already do a lot, but with Chespin already spining to get out of its trap, it would do a lot of damage, maybe even knock it out in one hit! That was, if it could beat the Solar Beam.

Chespin finally released itself from Infestation and spun towards Vivillon, just as it was about to release Solar Beam. As both moves were about to hit, a bright explosion covered the battlefield!

As it faded away, Chespin stood over Vivillon, who was badly injured.

"Chespin, finish it with Vine Whip!"

As Chespin unleashed its attack on Vivillon, a sudden Confusion sent it flying into the air.

"No!" exclaimed Max.

Then, he remembered his battle with Gyarados. That would only work if Chespin could still fight!

Chespin started to spin in midair, just as an Air Cutter was released. Chespin fought the current and attempted to get closer, just as the winds fighting it got stronger.

"The rocky shield covering it won't work!" exclaimed Viola.

Chespin kept spinning and spinning and progressing further and further, until it slammed straight into Vivillion, who fell smack onto the floor!

"Vivillon is unable to battle, which means the winners of this match are Fennekin, Chespin, and Max, the challengers!"

Max laughed and ran to Chespin, who almost fell over. He grabbed it and hugged it, and Fennekin, who stood next to Max during Chespin's fight, licked its face!

Max set Chespin down and said, "You were incredible! Both of you! I've never seen either of you battle this well!"

He held out two Poffins and gave them to both Pokemon. Chespin grabbed Fennekin's Poffin, pretended to eat it, and gave it back with a smile on its face to show it was joking.

"That was an incredible battle!" exclaimed Viola. "Both your Pokemon proved themselves to have skill, speed, wits, and soul! I didn't think Chespin or Fennekin would find a way to overcome the challenges my Pokemon gave! For that, I present to you... the Bug Badge!"

She held out the badge to Max, who grabbed it, smiling. He showed it to Chespin and Fennekin, and to Bonnie and May, who came running to him.

"You did awesome!" exclaimed Bonnie.

"I'm surprised you have all this skill!" exclaimed May, laughing.

Max punched her in the shoulder playfully. "Well, I learned from you, Ash, and Brock!"

"Ooh," said Viola. "You're friends with Ash Ketchum? He was another Trainer who had a lot of spunk! He even made it to the final round of the Pokemon League with that Froakie and Fletchling, or now Greninja and Talonflame, of his! Thos two Pokemon, like yours, figured out a way to overcome the obstacles I made for you! Hopefully, you'll become just like him!"

"Hopefully not TOO much like him," muttered Bonnie.

"Yeah," said May, "he can be a little... childish at times!"

"That just means he has a lot of soul!" exclaimed Viola, laughing.

"Yeah," said Max. "Where do you suggest I get my next Gym badge?"

"Well," said Viola, "if you head south through Aquacorde Town all the way to Vaniville Town, you could find some really cool Pokemon! Then, I suggest you take the Underground Train all the way to Lumiose City, just so you see everything this region has to offer!"

"Yeah!" said Bonnie. "But right after our Performance!"

Max, eager to head to the next town, just saw his future in a more bright, clear perspective!


	7. Chapter 7

**A Showcase Debut!**

"It's time!" announced Bonnie. It was time, time for her to get her first princess key, the first step in becoming Kalos Queen! But the one thing that kept her from having absolute confidence in herself was the fact that she was going up against a Top Coordinator, May.

"It sure is!" exclaimed May, as she held out the dress she had made for Bonnie.

The dress was gorgeous! It was nice and yellow with pink streaks running through it, kind of like what Valerie made for Serena, except this one seemed more like clothes that would be worn in Hoenn! For example, there was a glittering headband and white, silk gloves! The dress itself seemed the perfect mix between a cocktail dress and a gown!

"That is beautiful!" shreiked Bonnie, running to the dress. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem," said May. "I want you to try it on!"

Bonnie did, and both her and May knew it was the perfect dress for her.

"What are you going to wear?" asked Bonnie.

May revealed an elegant, slim gown that sparkled everywhere! She had a jewel necklace to go with it.

"That's amazing!" exclaimed Bonnie.

"Thanks again," blushed May.

"This... is... so... annoying!" exclaimed Max. "Can we just go to the town square to get this performance over with?!"

"You're such a KID," said Bonnie, rolling her eyes.

Max groaned. Look what May had done to his friend! She had absolutely BRAINWASHED her!

"Whatever," he said, as Chespin and Fennekin started to play by him. He held the Pokemon Egg that Greninja had given him and said, "Nurse Joy said that this egg won't hatch for a while! Well, that's what she thinks. I hope it hatches sooner."

"I bet there is an amazing Pokemon in there!" exclaimed Bonnie.

"Do you think it's a Froakie?" pondered Max, hoping he could have his own Greninja.

"Probably not," said Bonnie. "Whatever it is, it's going to be a special Pokemon! I just know it!"

"AHHH!" exclaimed May.

"What?" asked Bonnie, worried.

"Our performance... it starts in half an hour!"

"AHHH!" exclaimed Bonnie, her, May, Dedenne, Spritzee, and Chikorita running out the door.

"I told them they'd need to just go," muttered Max, him and his Pokemon following.

* * *

As Max, Chespin, and Fennekin seated themselves, the Pokemon Showcase began. While the MC was talking about the rules, backstage, Bonnie nervously shuddered. May approached her and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of! Really!"

"I hope you're right," muttered Bonnie, as she hugged Dedenne to her. Chikorita nudged its head against Bonnie, and Spritzee sprayed its beautiful fragrance over her, soothing her a bit.

Suddenly, a member of the crew whispered in May's ear, and she nodded and got up. Then, grabbing her Wartortle's PokeBall, she said, "Well, it's my turn right now! Wish me luck!"

And with that, she followed the crew member. Bonnie sighed. She looked at her Pokemon, and they all smiled back. She giggled a little, but then turned her attention to the screen.

"The theme for today's Showcase is... Pokemon Styling!" exclaimed the MC. Right after that, the stations for each contestant appeared behind him, and three of the contestants, including May, got onstage and headed to her station. The door opened and the MC exclaimed, "You know the rules! Design your Pokemon with the supplies you have before time runs out! Begin!"

May and Wartortle sprinted into their station and looked at the materials that they had. Wartortle was blue, and blue was a cool color, so to match that they'd make a costume that consisted of cool colors like green and purple too!

As May cut the linen and sewed them with ease, Wartortle spritzed the fabric with Water Gun ever so gently and gave a little shine to it.

She looked at what she had so far, put in on Wartortle with ease and grace, out some finishing touches, and...

"Time is up!" exclaimed the MC.

* * *

Max watched as the two other competitors showed their Pokemon's "costumes". He thought they were good, but nothing special.

Then, out came Wartortle, wearing an elegant blue scarf that shone like the stars! On its head was a dazzling green bow, and it had on a necklace of purple pearls!

As it and May strutted down the walkway, it slowly shot out a series of bubbles and walked through them, each of them popping and bursting into a beautiful array of sparkles as they walked past!

As they turned and walked back, the whole crowd stood up and applauded, screaming with joy! Max too got up and screamed, for it had been a long time since he saw his sister in some kind of contest. In all actuality, he kind of missed it!

"Now," announced the MC, as everyone settled down, the judges have voted on the winner of this round, so let's give it up for..."

The stage light wandered around the stage until it hit May and Wartortle!

"The one, the only... MAY!"

"WOW!" exclaimed Bonnie, starstruck by the beauty and elegance of the costume and the way Wartortle held itself!

She looked at Dedenne, who was playing around with Chikorita. She picked it up and said, "Dedenne, today we're going out there... and today, we're going to win!"

Dedenne nodded and nuzzled Bonnie, who got electrocuted. She laughed as Dedenne looked at her guiltily.

"It's OK," she said, "I think I actually needed that!"

Suddenly, a member of the stage crew opened the door and said, "Bonnie, you're up!"

Bonnie gasped, and grabbed Dedenne. As the pair walked out of the room, Chikorita and Spritzee mewed and bade them good luck.

* * *

"This is it," muttered Bonnie, as she finished up her costume for Dedenne. Suddenly, the buzzer rang, as the competitors finished up their costumes and got ready to showcase them.

"First up," said the MC, "we have Bonnie and her Dedenne!"

Out they came, and to the audience's delight, Dedenne was practically the cutest thing any of them had ever seen! It had a dazzling pink bow on its head and a nice pink dress that made it look like a model! It winked at the audience, and they fell in love instantly!

Bonnie looked at Dedenne and smiled as their turn was over. Dedenne had been flawless! She thought that, like at Serena's first contest with her Fennekin, they would mess up and lose! She sure didn't mess up, but she couldn't guarentee the outcome of this round.

"And now," said the MC, as all of them had displayed their Pokemon, "the judges have decided the winner, and it is..."

* * *

As Bonnie went backstage, she held Dedenne in her hands. Slowly, she walked back into her dressing room, and as she went in, May said, "Are you OK?"

Bonnie nodded. "Of course I am. I mean... I just won that round!"

May giggled. "I knew you were something special! Good job, kid!"

"So," said Bonnie, "I guess that means we're up against each other in the freestyle round, huh?"

"Yeah," said May, "and good luck!"

"You too," said Bonnie.

As they chatted for a while, the MC announce for the contenders to get on with their freestyle performance. "It's my turn," said May, as she stood up and left the room.

Bonnie watched the screen as May appeared, with Wartortle at her side. May and Wartortle leaped, and Wartortle released a Bubble array, wowing the audience. Suddenly, the bubbles got bigger and bigger and even started to change color!

May nodded, and hopped onto a bubble gracefully and then to another. One by one, the bubbles she had stepped on started to pop, but somehwat quietly and elegantly, releasing a shower of sparkles. By the time May reached the last Bubble, she sommersaulted off the last one as Wartortle launched a Water Gun that spiraled around the falling May.

Wartortle got in its shell and sped towards May while launching its Water Gun, sending a nice spray of water to the audience. May landed on Wartortle's sturdy shell with one foot, and Wartortle started to spin in place!

"WOW!" gasped Bonnie, as she was stunned by May's beautiful performance! It was absolutely incredible!

"That's my sister," muttered Max, smiling. "Leave it to her to make things showy and flashy!" Chespin and Fennekin seemed moved by the incredible performance as well and started to cheer.

* * *

Bonnie got onto the stage, nervous. Dedenne looked at her and nodded. They had been practicing this routine since after her journey with Ash, and they had finally got it down!

Dedenne started by using Thunder Shock, releasing a wave of thunder. Then, it used Fairy Wind and released a dazzling wind to gather the electricity into the form of a disc, which started to spin and hurtle towards Bonnie.

Bonnie prepared herslef and leaped into the air. Dedenne used Fairy Wind and propelled its Trainer up into the air, right on top of the electric disk.

As Bonnie stepped onto the disk, she didn't get shocked! The Fairy Wind that Dedenne used to herd the electricity into one place acted as some sort of shield!

Bonnie looked as Dedenne stepped in front of the disc a few meters away, prepared. They had been practicing for this. They had to perfect it now!

Dedenne unleashed a Parabolic Charge that absorbed the electricity from the disk, and now that the only thing left was the Fairy Wind, it started to make a sort of tornado around Bonnie as it helped her land onto the floor elegantly. The tornado disappeared into a shining array of gliitering particles.

Now was the time for Dedenne's epic finish. Bonnie ran to Dedenne to finish up their routine, ready for the Nuzzle attack.

Suddenly, Dedenne started to shoot out thunderbolts all over the arena. Its cheeks were burning up and it was out of control! This was most DEFINITELY not what they had planned.

"Dedenne!" exclaimed Bonnie, running to her Pokemon. She leaped on top of it to protect the audience from being electrocuted, and she herself was shocked.

"Somebody... help..." she gasped, as the pain disappeared.

* * *

"Are you OK?" asked May, as she stood over Bonnie.

Bonnie opened her eyes and sat up. She was in a bed in their room in the hotel. Around her were Max, May, Wartortle, Chespin, Fennekin, Chikorita, and Spritzee, but there was no sign of...

"DEDENNE!" she exclaimed, the remembering the Freestyle Performance.

"Dedenne absorbed too much electricity when it used Parabolic Charge," said May. "It had an overload!"

"Is it OK?" asked Bonnie.

"It needs a little rest," said May. "They used a machine to extract the excess electricity from it."

Bonnie nodded, relieved. "So, I take it I didn;t win the contest?"

May nodded. "A lot of people voted for you because of the way you cared about your Pokemon."

"So does this mean I won?" asked Bonnie, ready to shriek.

May shook her head. "I'm sorry, Bonnie." She held up her key ring, and there it was.. the Santalune City Princess Key.

"I'm pretty sure you would've won, anyways, cause you were awesome," said Bonnie sadly. "But exactly hos close was I to winning?"

Max took out his camera and said, "I took a picture of it to show you after you went unconcious, so it could be some sort of impetus that would let you beat May next time!"

"I thought you were supposed to back me up!" exclaimed May, somewhat jokingly.

"I don't look lile your posse OR your cheer squad, do I?" questioned Max.

"Can I just see the picture?!" exclaimed Bonnie. Both siblings shut up. Max held the camera to her. Bonnie gasped.

The other two competitors barely had any votes. The bulk of them had gone to May (green) and Bonnie (yellow). As Bonnie squinted, she saw that she had indeed won second place, but the gap between the amount of votes she had gotten and the amount of votes May had gotten was not that big.

"That was... pretty close," said Bonnie.

"You did beautifully!" exclaimed May. "I still can't grasp my mind around the fact that you used Fairy Wind to make a Thunder Shock into a spiraling disk! And the way you rode it! You were awesome!"

"Yeah," said Max. "You know, I didn't vote at all because I didn't want to have to choose between both of your performances!"

Bonnie smiled. "So you're saying that if Dedenne didn't overload, I would've won?"

May laughed. "Let's not go THAT far!"

* * *

"Here you go," said Nurse Joy, holding Dedenne to Bonnie. "All excess electricity has been removed from its system!"

"Thank you SO much!" said Bonnie as she grabbed Dedenne. Then, to her Pokemon, she said, "I'm so proud of you. I don't care if we didn't win! Now, we know what to work on for next time!"

Dedenne squealed and nuzzled itself against Bonnie.

"Now," said May. "I have a plane to catch!"

"What?" asked Bonnie. "You're going already?"

"I have to," said May. "The Pokemon Festival is in a couple of weeks, and I'm supposed to be there to be a judge!"

"Can't it wait?" asked Max, saddened by the fact that his sister would be leaving.

"I'm sorry, little bro," said May. "I need to go today. Drew called and said it was pretty important.." Drew was her rival competitor in the Hoenn contests and was starting to be a little more than that.

"OH," said Max, as his sister started to blush. "Drew? That explains a lot! You got anything... special... planned for when you get to Hoenn?"

"That's none of your business!" exclaimed May.

"Well," said Bonnie. "I'm going to miss you!"

"Don't worry," said May, hugging Bonnie, "I'll come back before the Master Class Showcase! Hopefully, I'll get to see you in tip-top shape!"

"I hope so, too!"

Then she turned to her brother. "You take care of her, OK? She's a pretty special girl, and..."

"NO!" exclaimed Max. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SAY STUFF LIKE THAT?!"

"Stuff like what?" pondered Bonnie.

"NOTHING!" both Max and May said in unison.

"I'm going to miss you, big sis," said Max.

"I'm gonna miss you, too," said May, hugging her brother.

Chespin, Dedenne, Chikorita, Fennekin, and Spritzee all squealed as May walked off bidding her farewell.

"Are you ready to go now?" asked Max, grabbing the egg and beckoning for his Pokemon to follow him.

Bonnie looked at him and nodded. "Let's go!"

(Sorry it took so long to post this chapter of the story! I don't plan on ending this story yet, so bear with me! And big thanks to those of you who are following along on this journey! Let me know if you have any suggestions at all.)


	8. Chapter 8

**The Bug in the System**

"Santalune Forest!" exclaimed Bonnie. "We're finally heading into the woods!"

"Yep," said Max. "Just great."

As the duo trudged through the woods, they talked about what they were plannig on doing next.

"I think I'm going on a shopping spree once we reach Acquacorde Town!" squealed Bonnie.

"Give me a break," said Max. "We should've headed back to Lumiose City so I could challenge the gym there!"

"Well," huffed Bonnie, "I wanted to go to Vaniville Town! Plus, there's a train station there that could take us all the way back to Lumiose City!"

"But it's going to be a MILLION years till we get there!" exclaimed Max.

"Well, my next Showcase isn't for a while, either! So suck it up!"

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"I'll talk to you however I want to!"

"Oh REALLY? You wanna bet?"

"YEAH!"

Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes ahead of them caused an utter silence. Chespin, Chikorita, Spritzee, and Fennekin, trudging behind Max, stopped. Dedenne hopped out of Bonnie's bag and went straight to the bush. It started to sniff carefully...

Suddenly, a Scatterbug came out of the bushes and tackled Dedenne.

"DEDENNE!" screamed Bonnie as her Pokemon fell to the ground.

"Scatterbug!" exclaimed a Trainer, running after his Pokemon. "I told you not to do that to people!" Then, looking at Bonnie, he said, "I'm really sorry about my Pokemon! I swear it isn't always like this!"

"That's all right," said Bonnie.

"I'm Mike," he said, holding out his hand to Bonnie.

"I'm Bonnie," she said, shaking his hand.

"I'm Max," said Max, shaking his hand as well.

"So," said Bonnie, "what are you and Scatterbug doing in the forest?"

"Well," he said, "we came in here to train. I want Scatterbug to become a Vivillon, so when I go back home, everyone can see how strong I am!"

"That's a great goal!" said Max.

"Thanks! Well, what are you two doing in here?"

"We're on a journey!" replied Bonnie. "We're headed for Vaniville Town. I wanna enter the Pokemon Showcase there!"

"I fight in gyms, and I'm just tagging along with her for now," said Max.

"Well, then," said Mike, suddenly smiling. "Since you're a Pokemon Trainer, Max, care to battle me?"

Max nodded. "Gladly."

* * *

"So, is this a one-on-one battle?" asked Max.

"Yep," replied Mike. "I choose you, Scatterbug!"

Mike looked at both his Pokemon and made a choice. "Fennekin, you wanna battle for me?"

Fennekin yapped and hopped onto the makeshift battlefield.

The battle began with Scatterbug using Tackle. Fennekin leaped into the air and used Flamethrower on it, sending it flying downwards. It fainted.

"Um," said Max, "I guess this means I win?"

"WE WERE SO CLOSE!" sobbed Mike. "I THOUGHT WE'D WIN!"

Fennekin looked at Max, a little scared.

"Uh.. yeah," said Max, scratching his head. "I guess you just need to work on your moves a little, if you know what I mean."

"I do!" exclaimed Mike. "Tackle, Scatterbug!"

Scatterbug started to Tackle a tree next to it. It kept tackling and tackling until...

"BEEDRILL!" exclaimed Bonnie, as she got all her stuff and ran. Her Pokemon followed in hot pursuit.

An army of Beedrill swarmed around Mike, Max, Chespin, Fennekin, and Scatterbug.

"Now look what you did!" exclaimed Max. "We're trapped!"

"But you told me to! You said I had to practice on my Pokemon's moves!"

"Well, not like this!"

"Wait!" gasped Mike. "This is the perfect opportunity to battle with Scatterbug!"

"It'll get pulverized!" exclaimed Max. "Chespin, Vine Whip, and Fennekin, Flamethrower!"

Both Pokemon prepared to unleash their moves, but were spun up into a ball together by Scatterbug.

"Sorry," said Mike. "But I'm taking the win! Scatterbug, whirl Chespin and Fennekin around!"

Scatterbug lifted the ball, and Max's Pokemon started to spin.

"Chespin, Fennekin, carry out those attacks!" Max said. He wasn't going to let Mike use his Pokemon as a battering ram, he should at least let them use their moves.

One by one, the Beedrill were either slashed by a vine or blasted with fire. They started to run away, but one fell and was stunned.

"PokeBall, go!" exclaimed Mike, throwing the PokeBall at the fallen Beedrill. It went in and got caught.

"Alright!" exclaimed Mike, reaching for the PokeBall.

Chespin and Fennekin, tired from their little whirl, fell to the floor, dizzy.

"Are you two OK?" asked Max, petting both his Pokemon. They shook their head, which started to spin.

"Well," said Mike, "Scatterbug, you've done good!"

Suddenly, a blue light shone around Scatterbug. It... was evolving!

"Whoa!" exclaimed Mike.

"I guess that 'training' actually paid off," muttered Max, watching the scene with awe.

Scatterbug evolved into a Spewpa!

"That's a really cool Pokemon!" exclaimed Mike. "I got a Spewpa!"

"Yep," said Max. "You did it." He was still somewhat mad about the way that Mike used his Pokemon to beat the Beedrill, but...

"Hey," said Mike, "didn't you come into these woods with your girlfriend?"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" groaned Max, and then realizing that Bonnie had completely disappeared. "Uhhhh... where did Bonnie go?"

* * *

"I'm pretty sure they're not following us anymore," said Bonnie, alluding to the Beedrill, "but I'm also sure we're lost."

Chikorita nodded. Spritzee sprayed it's perfume, this one containing the fragrance of its fear.

"I'm pretty sure they were this way," said Bonnie, heading down a path.

Chikorita shook its head.

"What is it?" asked Bonnie.

Dedenne walked to where Chikorita was, and shook its head too.

"Come on," said Bonnie. "Whatever's there can't be that bad."

A growling sound came from where Chikorita and Dedenne were standing.

"That's not funny, guys," said Bonnie, as it and Spritzee slowly stepped backwards. "I know you're hungry, but you don't have to project the noise like that."

Suddenly, a group of Pyroar surrounded them.

"Okay," said Bonnie. "We're just passing through, don't mind us."

The Pyroar all cocked their heads upwards and blasted fire. This was a pack.

"I really am sorry!" said Bonnie.

Suddenly, two of the Pyroar grabbed Dedenne and Chikorita in their mouths. Dedenne tried to shock the Pyroar holding it but its fangs were clamped down on it hard.

"NO!" said Bonnie. "I won't let you!"

Spritzee shot out a Fairy Wind, but it was knocked back by a series of Flamethrower attacks. It was automatically unconcious.

"Come on!" said Bonnie.

Spritzee was too hurt to get up. Bonnie was out of options.

"HEY!" said Bonnie, putting her bag on the floor. All the Pyroar stepped closer to her.

She opened the bags and placed Poffins on the floor in front of her. "I have these for you."

They had been sent to her by Serena, and she wanted to save them until the right moment, but this might as well had been the right moment.

The Pyroar stepped near the Poffins. Slowly, they inched closer and closer...

Then, with a sudden movement, a flying net came and spun around the Pyroar. It was Mike and... his new Spewpa! Max came, with Chespin and Fennekin in his hands, passed out.

"You guys!" said Bonnie. "You're here!"

"Yep," said Mike, as he grabbed a PokeBall. "Beedrill, let's go!"

Beedrill came out of its PokeBall, ready to fight for its new Trainer.

"Spewpa, Tackle 'em! Beedrill, use Poison Jab!"

Both bug Pokemon unleashed their attacks on the Pyroar, who blasted out Flamethrowers at them but couldn't get a good angle to shoot them at.

The Pyroar, injured and hurt, cut loose from their webs, and too scared to fight, ran off.

"Nice job!" said Mike, hugging his Pokemon. "You guys were..."

Suddenly, a blue light shone around Spewpa. It was evolving... again! Out of Spewpa's shell came a Vivillon! However, this one was different.

Instead of its pink wings, this Vivillon had blue wings with white speckled around it!

"That's... beautiful!" gasped Bonnie.

"I know!" exclaimed Mike, looking at Vivillon. "You're perfect!"

Vivillon giggled. It turned to Beedrill, who blushed at its beauty.

Dedenne and Chikorita came running to Bonnie, who ran to them.

"Thank god!" she gasped. "I thought you'd be dinner tonight! Thanks, Mike!"

"No problem," he said.

"What you did today was awesome!" exclaimed Max. "Plus, you have a Vivillon and a Beedrill!"

"Yeah," said Mike. "But, I still have to get a Butterfree, Dustox, Beautifly, Kricketot, Wormadam, Sewaddle, Venipede... I'm NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BEING FINISHED!"

"Well," said Bonnie, "that's what a journey is for, isn't it?"

"Yep," said Mike.

* * *

"We're out!" exclaimed Bonnie, stretching her arms. They had spent the night in the woods and had camped out there.

"The next town should be about... 2 miles from here," said Mike.

"Thanks so much for getting us through here," said Max.

"No problem," said Mike. Suddenly, his phone started ringing. He turned it on and said, "Hello?

-Yeah?

-Yeah, I just got out of the Santalune Forest!

-Um... I don't think I'll be going back to the gym for a while. Sorry, Viola.

-Yeah, I have some people I can travel with...

He looked to Bonnie and Max, pleadingly. Bonnie laughed and smiled. Max nodded.

"Yeah! Their names are Bonnie and Max... YOU KNOW THEM?! WAIT, MAX BEAT YOU?!"

Max and Bonnie stifled their laughter.

"Yeah, I'll tell them you say hi. Okay, bye big sis."

Max widened his eyes. Now this was a surprise!

"That explains why you want to be a bug master," said Bonnie as Mike hung up the phone.

"Yeah," said Mike. "I wanna beat her some day! I wanna get stronger!"

"Well, let's do it together!" exclaimed Max, as he, Bonnie, and Mike continued on their journey.


	9. Chapter 9

**An Electrifying Showdown**

"Aquacorde Town at last," said Mike, as the group of three reached their destination.

"At last," said Max, as Chespin and Fennekin fell to the floor.

Behind the two boys, Bonnie scrambled through her bag.

"Whacha looking for?" asked Mike, as he turned to face his friend.

Bonnie said, "Well, I felt a tug on my purse, and I'm trying to figure out what happened and to see if anything is missing! I hope no one stole anything!"

"Relax," said Max. "Just because there was a tug doesn't mean that something is missing."

"AAAAAAH!" shouted Bonnie. "MY PRINCESS KEY CHAIN... IT'S GONE!"

"What do you mean?" asked Max, running over to his friend.

"I mean... the princess key chain is gone!"

Suddenly, a shriek in the distance caused the group to perk their ears.

"I think our culprit has hit another target!" exclaimed Mike, running to the noise.

When they reached the building where the loud sound had come from, they found a girl with a PokeBall in her hand, facing a Helioptile.

"Isn't that girl..." started Max.

"It's Macy!" gasped Bonnie. Macy was the girl that she had beat in the battle tournament, and she had caught the Flabébé that Bonnie planned on catching.

"Why was she screaming..." wondered Mike.

Suddenly, Macy let out both her Tailow and Flabébé. "Come on guys, let's get back our money!"

Both Pokemon attacked the Helioptile, but Helioptile used Parabolic Charge and absorbed all the energy the Pokemon had.

"WHAT?!" gasped Bonnie, as Macy turned around. Helioptile excaped.

"I'll go after it," said Mike, running after the Pokemon. He sent out both Beedrill and Vivillon.

"I'll come with you," said Max, with Chespin and Fennekin at his side.

"Are your Pokemon OK?" asked Bonnie, as she approached Macy. Spritzee sprayed its perfume on the injured Pokemon in an attempt to heal it. Dedenne and Chikorita tried to help them up as well.

"GET YOUR PUNY POKEMON AWAY!" exclaimed Macy. "Because of you, that Helioptile got away with our money! Now, we're gonna starve to death! Is that what you want?! For me and my Pokemon to starve to death!"

"Certainly not your Pokemon," muttered Bonnie under her breath.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" shrieked Macy. She shoved Bonnie's Pokemon away from her's and grabbed her Pokemon, running to the Pokemon Center.

"What a drama queen," said Bonnie. She got both of her Pokemon and said, "Well, I still gotta get my key chain back! You guys wanna come along?"

Her Pokemon nodded.

"All right," said Bonnie, "let's go!"

* * *

"Gotcha," said Max, standing over the Helioptile, who had fled from him for over an hour, but was finally caught in an alley. "I have you trapped!"

Helioptile smirked at him.

"Chespin, let's tie this theif up with Vine Whip!" exclaimed Max. Chespin did as it was ordered, but suddenly, a jolt of electricity was sent through the vine, shocking Chespin.

"GAH," exclaimed Max, amazed by the power of this Pokemon. "Fennekin, give it a Flame Charge!"

Fennekin charged at it in a blaze of fire, but with a single Mud Shot, the flames were gone and Fennekin was blinded.

"We got this," said Mike. "Vivillon, Air Cutter, and Beedrill, Poison Sting!"

Both Pokemon shot their moves out at Helioptile, but it leaped into the air and dodged. Then, it sent out a Parabolic Charge and absorbed both of the Pokemons' energy!

"NO!" gasped Mike, as the Helioptile climbed the building of the alley. All of their Pokemon were beat.

"We gotta follow it!" exclaimed Max. "We just have to!"

"You guys!" exclaimed Bonnie, sprinting after them. "What happened to your Pokemon?"

"That Helioptile beat them," muttered Mike.

"ALL FOUR OF THEM?!" shrieked Bonnie, amazed.

"Yep," said Max.

Suddenly, Dedenne's whiskers started to twitch. A jolt of electricity came from them.

"That's it!" exclaimed Bonnie. "Dedenne can trace the electric charge back to that Helioptile!"

"So does that mean we can follow it back to that thief?" asked Mike.

"Exactly!"

"Well, then," said Max. "Dedenne, lead the way!"

* * *

Dedenne led the group through a series of streets and sidewalks and allies, until they ended up in an abandoned building.

"Is this where Helioptile is?" asked Bonnie.

Dedenne nodded.

"Good, so let's go..."

Suddenly, Macy sprinted and crashed into them.

"OW!" screeched Macy. "Get out of my way!"

"We're trying to help you here, you prissy brat!" yelled Bonnie.

"I'm sorry! WHAT?!"

Mike and Max looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

"If you guys can stop for just one moment," said Max, "we got to get that Helioptile once and for all!"

"You're right," said Bonnie. "So Macy, are you coming with us?"

Macy groaned. "Only because I have to."

The group opened the door to the abandoned building and looked around. They quietly crept upstairs until they heard a voice.

"So, did you bring us anything interesting?" drawled a familiar voice.

Helioptile squealed and dropped Macy's money, Bonnie's princess key chain, and many other items.

"Good," said another familiar voice, "You brought us what we wanted."

"Wait a minute..." gasped Max. "That's Team Flare!"

Bonnie nodded.

Mike and Macy were confused, but then remembered the incident in Lumiose City over a year before.

"So those guys are back?" asked Mike.

"Yeah," said Max.

Macy stormed into the room and said, "OK, I don't know who you hooligans are, but I... want... my... money!"

Cheri cackled. "Now THAT'S funny!"

Bonnie groaned. Of course Macy would blow their cover.

"Now," said Bryce, "If you'll excuse us, we have some businnes to do with this Helioptile. And if you want it and it's family to be safe..."

He beckoned to a cage in the corner, where a bunch of Helioptile were crammed in.

"You guys better stop this!" shouted Max, as he, Bonnie, and Mike got out of their corner.

"I knew it!" groaned Cheri. "You guys always ruin everuthing!"

"I'll cover them," said Bonnie, as Dedenne, Spritzee, and Chikorita stepped in front of her to face Team Flare.

"I'll help you," said Macy, as Tailow and Flabebe came in to help.

"I'll save the Helioptile in the cage!" exclaimed Mike, sprinting to the other side of the room.

"Skrelp, Poison Sting!"

Skrelp used its move, but with the help of Chikorita, the toxic needles were chucked to the side.

"I'll get our stuff back and help Helioptile!" exclaimed Max, turning to the electric Pokemon. It grabbed its treasures defensively.

"I'm going to help you," said Max, as he held out his hand to it.

Suddenly, Croagunk leaped at it with a Karate Chop. Max leaped in front of Helioptile and took the blow.

"GAAAAH!" he shrieked, in absolute pain.

Flabebe and Spritzee blasted the Croagunk with Fairy Wind, sending it back.

Now, the Skrelp and Croagunk faced the girls' Pokemon. Skrelp let loose a Sludge Bomb, which hurtled towards Tailow. Dedenne shocked it with Thunder Shock and it faded away.

Tailow nodded at Dedenne and sped towards Croagunk with a Wing Attack. It hit Croagunk slam on, and then it was hit with a Razor Leaf from Chikorita.

Meanwhile, Flabebe and Spritzee took on Skrelp, who used Poison Sting and hurt them badly.

The two took the hits, although barely. Flabebe then pulled Skrelp in with Vine Whip, allowing Spritzee to use Sweet Kiss, confusing it.

Then, Dedenne used Thunder and electrocuted both Croagunk and Skrelp, knocking them out.

"NO!" exclaimed Cheri. "Not... again! I can't tolerate this!"

She and Bryce called back their Pokemon, and before the girls could stop them, they leaped out the window and onto a jet, which disappeared from sight.

* * *

As the Helioptile were released, both Bonnie and Macy got their items back. Mike was nuzzled by the family, and Max sat in the corner, by himself.

Helioptile approached him. It remembered how he had sacrificed himself to protect Helioptile, even after what it had done to his Pokemon.

Helioptile rubbed its head on Max's kneed. Max stroked it silently, until Bonnie said, "Well, looks like we're done here! Good job, Macy!"

Macy flashed a hint of a smile, but then masked it with a visage of boredom. "Yeah, I guess. Next time, to make it less complicated... just stay out of my way."

With that, she left the room.

"I guess, she'll never change," sighed Bonnie.

"Yeah," said Mike, and then he saw Max and Helioptile. "Max, I guess that Helioptile really likes you! I think you should catch it!"

Max looked at Helioptile and shook his head, "I can't. It just got back its family. I can't do that to the poor thing."

He stood up and walked out of the room. Helioptile stared at him, a little sad, and then looked back at its family. They nodded.

Helioptile sprinted to Max and nuzzled him. It started to hop up and down expectantly.

"Wait," said Max. "Do you want to come with me?"

Helioptile nodded.

"Well, then," said Max, smiling. "Helioptile, I challenge you to a battle!"

Helioptile squealed with joy. Bonnie and Mike grinned.

* * *

"Chespin, I choose you!" exclaimed Max.

Chespin leaped onto the battlefield outside the Pokemon Center. Helioptile faced it on the other side

Chespin started the battle by using Vine Whip. Helioptile leaped into the air and dodged the move swiftly.

Helioptile leaped at Chespin with Quick Attack, which sent Chespin backwards. It was nowhere close to being beaten, though.

Chespin charged with Tackle, but Helioptile used Parabolic Charge and started to drain its energy.

Chespin got up, but this time, it was a struggle. Even though the move wasn't very effective against it, Helioptile was a strong Pokemon!

Helioptle unleashed its Thunder Shock attack, damaging Chespin even further. It couldn't move!

Chespin started to step forward, slowly. Helioptile increased the power of the move, but Chespin still progressed.

Helioptile, tired of using its electric type moves, shot out a Mud Shot. Max grinned. He had been waiting for this.

Chespin started a Rollout and sent the Mud Shot flying back at Helioptile, damaging it and blinding it. Then, Chespin used Vine Whip and threw Helioptile into the air.

Helioptile shot out a Thunder Shock, but it only shocked itself!

Max grinned, until it realized that by damaging itself... it got rid of the Mud Shot! Helioptile grinned, and then unleashed a Parabolic Charge.

Chespin started to roll with Rollout, attempting to resist the move. Piece by piece, the rocky layer it had created around itself started to disappear. Chespin had to act... quickly!

Chespin sprung into the air with all its might, over Helioptile, and crashed downawards into it!

Helioptile, crushed by the impact of the rocky Rollout, was knocked out!

Max smiled. He reached for a PokeBall and threw it at Helioptile. It shook once... twice... and... BAM! He caught Helioptile!

He walked towards the PokeBall, grinning. He finally caught a new Pokemon.

Chespin grinned at its Trainer. Fennekin, Bonnie, and Mike cheered for him.

"I caught Helioptile!" he exclaimed. "And it's all thanks to Chespin!"

"Now," said Bonnie, "are we ready to head out to Vaniville Town?"

Mike nodded.

Max nodded.

"All right, then! Off we go!"


End file.
